Illegal liquor outlets thrive in protected forests in Faridabad

Time of India

3 days ago

: Liquor vends and taverns are operating openly on Aravali forest land and protected greenbelts across Faridabad, some hidden behind thick vegetation, others right in the middle of residential zones, in clear violation of environmental laws.
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At least four vends have come up on forest land, and over 35 more in green belts in areas like Bhatola, Mangar, Surajkund Road and Lakkarpur.
Many of these locations fall within buffer zones of the Aravalis, where any construction or commercial activity is either restricted or banned under the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900.
The vends are not small kiosks. In most places, there are permanent structures -- double-shutter shops with paved courtyards, tin-roofed seating areas and boundary walls.
Ahatas attached to them offer open-air drinking spaces with plastic chairs, wooden benches and food counters. In some cases, drains around the premises were clogged with empty bottles, plastic cups, leftover food items and liquor sachets.
One of the outlets in Bhatola lies on protected forest land, which is owned by the irrigation department. Another store in a forest area is located close to the Manav Rachna University, and a third in Lakkarpur is on Aravali land owned by the tourism department.
A fourth outlet is carved out of a green belt in Mangar, with a parcel of Aravali land likely flattened to make space for the shop. The store's owners also installed floodlights here.
On Friday, most staffers at these stores refused to talk or show any permits.
But an employee of a wine shop along Surajkund Road told TOI the store has been at the spot for years. "No one came to say that it is illegal," he said. Another staffer at the wine shop in Mangar said he wasn't aware that this was forest land.
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An excise department official on Friday refused to comment on the legality of these shops. "The matter is sub-judice. A verification survey can be initiated soon," a district excise official said.
A forest department official said on Friday that they had issued notices to these vends last week.
"These are old structures, but we issued notices last week. One of them, which is near Surajkund Road, has around 20% of its structure in PLPA area.
We will carry out a demarcation and issue a notice. The Mangar one is in section 4 of PLPA. We will carry out appropriate action against these units," said Vipin Kumar Singh, divisional forest officer, Faridabad.
The matter of liquor vends operating illegally in protected forests had reached the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Dec last year. Faridabad-based activist Narender Sirohi had filed a petition, alleging that the state govt has allowed rampant commercialisation of protected Aravali land.
"These outlets are polluting forest land and green belts, creating constant nuisance and encouraging illegal commercial activities in areas where only afforestation or open land use is permitted. Despite multiple complaints, no action was taken. That's why I approached the tribunal," Sirohi told TOI.
He said that these shops were not "accidental violations", these laid bare "regulatory apathy".
"Entire green belts are loaded with heaps of garbage… Such activities are not only causing degradation of the environment, but are also affecting public health at large," he added.
For now, NGT has sought responses from the forest department, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), excise department, district administration and the Union environment ministry. A hearing is expected by Oct.
Environmentalists said such commercial operations in forest areas were "environmental vandalism".
"Govt talks of preserving green belts, but liquor outlets are being allowed to thrive in the very areas meant for reforestation and ecological buffers," said Sunil Harsana, an ecologist and activist.