The Haryana forest department, in its final report on Tuesday, said that 1,356 trees were cut without permission across 11 acres in Chauma village on February 17.
The area is located in Sector 111, around 15 kilometres from the city, and falls under general Section 4 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) 1990, under which tree felling without the government’s approval is prohibited.
“The final report reveals the exact number of trees felled in the area without permission. We have taken action against our forest guard in this case,” said MD Sinha, conservator of forest, south circle, Gurgaon.
This is the first time that such a large number of trees were felled in the area without any objection from the ground staff, raising questions about the forest department itself.
“Tree felling incidents have been frequent in the city and it is evident that even the ground staff of the forest department is involved in such incidents. This is first such incident where the department has taken action against its own people involved in illegal tree felling,” said Vivek Kamboj, an environmental activist.
The area is close to the project site of a real estate firm and locals alleged that it is a deliberate attempt by the builder to grab land illegally. The area is prime location for realtors as it is only six km from the Dwarka Expressway.
Rakesh Tiwari, the local who had complained to the forest department regarding the tree felling, said with no Tree Act in place and negligible fine in the city for felling a tree, such incidents are common.
