Chandigarh, May 26 (PTI) Congress MP Kumari Selja has written to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, requesting that the land on both sides of the National Highway 9 passing through Sirsa city, currently notified as forest land, be de-notified and handed over to the municipal council for development works.

In her letter to Yadav, Selja said that development works in urban areas are being hindered due to the said land falling under jurisdiction of the Forest Department.

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The Sirsa MP highlighted "a serious administrative hurdle in urban development" in her letter and urged the Union minister to de-notify this land and transfer it to the municipal council, according to a statement issued on Monday.

Selja said that there is neither a dense forest nor any significant vegetation on this land. But the municipal council has to seek prior approval from the Forest Department for even minor development works such as laying sewer lines, water pipelines, and installing electric poles, she wrote in the letter.

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The former Union minister said that this not only causes unnecessary delays in development projects but also results in the stagnation of multiple projects worth crores of rupees.

Selja said that "a long-standing dispute between the municipal council and the Forest Department over the forest land on both sides of NH-9 in Sirsa has disrupted many development schemes and wasted public funds worth crores of rupees. This has caused significant inconvenience to the public".

She said that such notified land along roads passing through urban areas should be de-notified at the policy level.

"Furthermore, necessary amendments should be made to forest laws to prevent such issues in the future," she wrote.

The Congress leader expressed hope that the Central government would "prioritize this public interest issue and take prompt action so that urban development works can gain momentum", the statement said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)