GURUGRAM: The district is estimating the span of common lands in Mangar that have to be returned to the panchayat, the Faridabad deputy commissioner said on Thursday, after environmentalists pointed to a Supreme Court order that directed officials to restore ownership of forest and village areas that were illegally sold or partitioned in the 1970s.
Environmentalists say that around 1,500 acres of the Aravalis common land — called “shamlat deh” — was unlawfully diverted for monetary gains in the 1970s in Mangar. The hilly forested area includes parts of the Mangar Bani Sacred Grove and lies next to the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary. “The Supreme Court’s judgment seems to have been ignored and no attempt has been made to restore the Mangar common lands back to the panchayat,” said Lt Col (retd) Sarvadaman Singh Oberoi, a Gurugram-based environmentalist.
