New Delhi
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the Haryana government to demolish illegal construction made in Kant Enclave, Faridabad, in the Aravalli Hills after August 18, 1992, in violation of environmental norms and its own orders and directed it to compensate those adversely affected in the process.

A Bench of Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta said Kant Enclave was a forest area which needed to be treated as forest land where no construction activity could have been permitted with effect from August 18, 1992, when a notification under Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900 banned construction in the area.
The diversion of forest land for non-forest use violated Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and top court’s decisions, the Bench said.

It ordered R Kant & Co and Haryana Town & Country Planning Department to pay Rs 50 lakh to each persons whose construction were ordered to be demolished.
The Bench directed the builder to give full refund along with 18% annual interest to hundreds of persons who invested in land from date of investment.

Applying “The polluter pays principle”, the top court ordered R Kant & Co to deposit Rs 5 crore in the Aravalli Rehabilitation Fund within a month for restoration of the forest land.

Those not satisfied with compensation amount were at liberty to claim damages from R Kant & Co and Haryana Town & Country Planning Department by filing a civil suit, the Bench said.