Complying with the orders of the Hon'ble Punjab & Haryana High Court, the Punjab Government has conducted enquiry/scientific study in 15 villages of kandi area in Mohali District and taken action as per P.L.P.A. Act consequently issuing a fresh notification under section 4 of P.L.P.A. 1900.Disclosing this here today, the Forest and Wildlife Preservation Minister, Punjab, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot said that the notification has put a stop to the misinformation campaign in the region.He also divulged that the department of forest in the presence of the revenue department, had made the people of the villages aware regarding submission of their claims/suggestions to the DC, Mohali. To ensure maximum publicity of the initiative, announcements from the religious places, meetings in villages and advertisements in the newspapers were resorted to.The minister also said that earlier the forest department got conducted a complete study by the Central Soil Conservation Institute (A Union Government Undertaking) ,I.A.R.I. Delhi and Land Survey and Use Noida & Punjab Remote Sensing Agency, Ludhiana. He further disclosed that the agencies in their report termed this area as 'Severe Erosion' area. The minister also elaborated that the field staff of forest department not only helped these agencies but also thoroughly conducted checks at these areas at its own level.The field staff also took photographs depicting land position in these areas.Dharamsot said that the entire process was photographed and videographed.
He also added that the issued notification includes the area of the 15 villages namely Nada, Karoran, Parachh, Maajrian, Soonk, Chhoti-Bari Naggal, Siswan, Pallanpur, Dulwan, Boorana, Tarapur Majri, Sultanpur, Majra, Paraul and Gochar other than the delisted areas.The forest minister also said that the notification would go a long way in making the forest and the wildlife safe and secure and besides this the danger of erosion/land slipping and the siltation in the lower regions would be averted to a large extent. Under the notification the people having the ownership rights of these areas would not be affected. It is also worth mentioning that the notification case would help a great deal in the ongoing case (CRM-M 49595 of 2007) in the Hon'ble Punjab and Haryana High Court thus providing impetus to the compliance of the interim report of Mr. Justice Kuldeep Singh.Mr. Dharamsot furher added that the Punjab Government led by the Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh is fully committed to the safety and security of the forest land of the state. He said that the notification would ensure the continuation as before of the works related to various schemes in the closed areas of Forest, Soil Conservation and Rural Development & Panchayat Departments. He said that this continuation would result in employment opportunities for the people apart from maintaining the scenic beauty and flora and fauna of these areas.