Forest department gives three-day notice over hutments in Mangar Bani buffer

A cluster of temporary hutments has come up on roughly two acres within the Mangar Bani buffer zone near Mangar village, adding fresh pressure on one of the NCR’s most environmentally sensitive Aravali landscapes.

The shelters are made from tarpaulin, plastic sheets, cloth and bamboo, with some structures supported by trees. The site shows signs of regular habitation, including household items, clotheslines and cleared patches of ground. The Faridabad divisional forest officer, Jhalkar Uyake, said occupants had been given three days to leave, after which the department would take action.

Mangar Bani and its surrounding buffer are designated as a no-construction zone and are covered by restrictions under Sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act. Haryana had demarcated the forest area and its 500-metre buffer in 2016, creating a protected landscape of nearly 1,944 acres.

The settlement has been identified weeks after forest officials stopped work on an internal pathway in the Mangar Bani landscape. For residents across Gurgaon and Faridabad, the issue matters because the forest is a biodiversity-rich Aravali patch that also functions as a wildlife corridor and supports groundwater recharge. Continued construction, access works and habitation could further alter a protected area already facing development pressure.