GURUGRAM: The bill to amend the Punjab Land Preservation Act ( PLPA ) in Haryana says the law has affected lakhs of dwelling units, commercial buildings and industries as well as agricultural activity in one-fourth of the state’s geographical area. The government has argued this affects many livelihoods and it was left with no option but to change the law.But in NCR, which has a large chunk of PLPA land in Faridabad and Gurugram, the number of entities affected by PLPA isn’t that large, though some of them are large companies with major investments. In the two districts, around 30% of the PLPA area (notified under sections 4 and 5) has been privatised. In Faridabad, five commercial entities, three unauthorised colonies and 142 private farmhouses and banquet halls and two educational institutes (according to a district administration survey) have been built on this land.Sectors 21C III, 44, 46 and 47 were, meanwhile, developed by Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (earlier Huda). However, out of 922 acres in these sectors, only 51 acres are allotted and occupied. In 2009, the Supreme Court-appointed central empowered committee (CEC) had some down heavily on Huda for developing sectors in the forest area. Later, CEC and the Haryana government came to an agreement that no further development will take place in the area and Huda had to hand over 369 acres of hilly area and Rs 45 crore for redevelopment of forests in Faridabad. This gave amnesty to the Huda projects.In Gurugram, the number of violations could not be ascertained in the 38 villages that have PLPA land. They are restricted mostly to the Raisina area where the forest department has time and again razed illegal constructions. A senior forest department official told TOI on Friday PLPA areas in Gurugram were well protected. “We can assure you that there are no constructions in the area protected under PLPA in Gurugram. We got a few reports of construction of boundary walls in Raisina and Ghamroj village but those were razed immediately. Our department has check posts in almost all PLPA areas. So, they are fully protected,” the official said.These violations happened because of privatisation of Aravali land that started in early 1970s when the revenue department allowed distribution of village common land to villagers. The villagers then sold it to real estate developers. Many land owners, who bought small holdings in the area some 20-30 years ago, also sold off their lands to commercial entities. That’s how PLPA land passed into the hands of realtors interested in commercial projects. What stood in their way was PLPA, which bars construction activity in the foothills . The bill, which takes urban areas notified under master plans or in municipalities out of the purview of PLPA, takes away that hurdle. Environment experts have also accused the government of heavily exaggerating the impact of PLPA, arguing only 1% of the state’s geographical area (30,000 hectares) is notified under Section 4 and 5 of PLPA, which is non-agricultural hilly forested areas.

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