Surge in construction of illegal farmhouses in Aravallis, Sohna Council issues notice

Gurugram (The Uttam Hindu): After the illegal farmhouse construction issue was raised at the Municipal Council Sohna, it started a campaign to re-identify such structures in Aravalli Hills adjacent to Raisina village. Officials said in the last week, show cause notices have been put up outside nine farmhouses regarding illegal construction. The farmhouse owner will have to reply to the notice within seven days.

After that rampant illegal construction, the council's team is now surveying the Aravalli area to stop the construction of illegal farmhouses. According to information, about 450 farmhouses have been sold in Aravalli by private builders who developed one or two acres of area. During the survey conducted by the council before 1992, only four to five constructions came under the ambit of legality. The constructions done after 1992 have been considered illegal.

"The council's survey team has started a campaign of issuing notices regarding illegal constructions to the concerned owner. Show cause notices have been pasted outside nine farmhouses during the survey," said Digambar Singh, JE, Sohna Council. Apart from this, 13 high-end cafes and restaurants in Aravalli's Leopard Trail will soon be demolished. The cafes and restaurants have been illegally built on agricultural land in the one-kilometre stretch of Gairatpur Bas village, Gurugram.

This stretch in Gairatpur Bas village is known as the leopard trail because of the frequent leopard presence in the area and adjacent to the Aravallis. These establishments managed to escape action, owing to elections this year. "Around 12 cafes are illegal and operating without having a change of land use (CLU ) permission. Swimming pools have been made operational without any consent from the competent authority. We have already issued notices to the owners of these establishments, but they failed to give any reply. We will soon conduct necessary action," said RS Bhath, Nodal Officer Enforcement, Gurugram.