Forest mafia ravaging Shivaliks for farmhouses near Chandigarh

Well-heeled forest mafia is levelling hills and diverting seasonal rivulets in eco-fragile Shivalik foothills at Mirzapur village in Majri block and other areas to carve out farmhouses in Chandigarh's periphery. The violation is being done in areas protected under the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900, and the adjoining areas that have been taken out (de-listed) from the Act's provisions.