The Punjab and Haryana High Court has on September 4 rectified its judgment on forest area, ending the confusion over land use. Disposing of a civil writ petition presented before it, the High Court on May 15 had declared the entire state area notified under Sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) 1900, as forest land.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court order came after a petition filed by the state government. As per the orders, no non-forest activity could be undertaken on this land without prior environmental clearance from the union government.

As the court’s orders covered most parts of Gurgaon, Nuh, Faridabad, Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Ambala, Mohindergarh, Rewari and Bhiwani districts, the development activities in these districts came to a standstill as all such work came under the ambit of non-forest activities.

In a spot over the roadblock, the authorities of these districts approached the state government, which in turn, moved court.

Rectifying its previous order, the HC observed: “The error has apparently crept in for the reason that neither a complete copy of the notification dated November 28, 1997, was placed on record, nor the notifications issued under Sections 4 and 5, PLPA, 1900, were brought on record. The same has been brought to record for the first time after the main decision.”

The Bench, comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice Surya Kant, maintained: “We are aghast to know that the copies of the notifications issued under Sections 4 and 5 of the PLPA, 1900, are neither readily available with the divisional forest officers or other forest officers, nor have they been brought to the notice of the Mines and Geology department, Haryana. Resultantly, no demarcation appears to have been made at the spot of the lands covered by these notifications by the revenue department.”

... contd.