Massive encroachment of public land case in Delhi HC

An ongoing case in High Court exposes encroachment of public land by builders, bureaucrats, and politicians.

New Delhi: An ongoing case in the Delhi High court regarding the massive encroachment of public land in and around Delhi by builders and bureaucrats has become a classic example of the Delhi government allegedly seeking ‘tareek pe tareek’ to avoid a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the matter.

In August 2022, the Delhi High Court issued its first order on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a former CBI official, who exposed the widespread encroachment of government land, including forest areas, by a nexus of politicians, builders, and bureaucrats. In addition to these influential groups, a significant portion of the land is being occupied by immigrants, many of whom are suspected to have entered India illegally, leading to the formation of slums and Jhuggi-Jhopri clusters.

Since then, more than twelve hearings have taken place. In the last hearing on January 15, the counsel of Delhi government did not appear for the second round after petitioners demanded a CBI inquiry into this matter, which has led to severe pollution and reduction of forest cover in Delhi. Following the failure of the Delhi government’s counsel to appear, the High court had to adjourn the case until March 3.

Documents obtained by The Sunday Guardian, filed in court by Mandeep Mittal, the Deputy Conservator of Forest (South) and an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of the 2016 batch, reveal the extent of encroachment. According to these documents, at least 21 acres of forest land in Chhatarpur alone is under encroachment. Mittal, in his response filed in the court, noted that a total of 315 acres of forest land in his jurisdiction, including critical areas like Asola and Bhatti, was being encroached upon, with more than 80 acres under encroachment. Since 2019, the Forest Department has reportedly been able to remove only 80 acres of this encroached land.

Further complicating matters, a meeting held in November 2023 involving central and Delhi government officials, including Delhi’s Environment and Forest Minister, Gopal Rai, discussed the encroachment issue in the Ridge area of Delhi.

During this meeting, it emerged that Rai had issued instructions that no encroachment would be removed without submitting a detailed removal plan to then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. This directive was issued despite the absence of any formal rules allowing such a decision, raising concerns that the Delhi government officers and the Forest Department may not be serious about addressing the encroachment issue due to political interference.

According to a detailed affidavit filed by the petitioners, many of the encroached lands are occupied by marriage gardens and farmhouses owned by politicians, bureaucrats, and businessmen. According to the petitioners, the responses submitted by various Delhi government agencies have been “vague and incomplete”, intentionally leaving out the identities of those behind the encroachments to protect them from public scrutiny.

Mittal, who was transferred to Ladakh in 2024, has been replaced by Vipul Pandey as the Deputy Conservator of Forest. The Sunday Guardian reached out to both Pandey and the Environment Minister for comments on the case, but no responses were received by the time the story went to press.

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