Even as the Punjab government rolled out its controversial Low Impact Green Habitats (LIGH) Policy, 2025 last November to regulate farm houses in ecologically sensitive areas, close family members of Punjab Chief Secretary KAP Sinha and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Vikas Garg already owned land in regions likely to gain from the policy.Documents accessed by The Indian Express show that KAP Sinha’s son, Shivam Sinha, had purchased a share in a 24-bigha, 2.64-biswa land parcel in village Choti Bari Naggal in Mohali district, an area falling within the belt covered by the policy. Around the same time, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Vikas Garg’s father, Jagdish Garg, also owned land in Seonk village in Majri block of Mohali, another area linked to the policy’s ambit.Responding to the allegations, Sinha said, “My son purchased this land seven years ago. He purchased it for Rs 3 lakh then. He has not got possession of the land, which is part of a joint khewat. When it is a joint khewat, he does not know whether his plot would fall in the category of listed or delisted property. How is it then a conflict of interest? He is already stuck. You go and see if there is any piece demarcated and possession given to him. The property was sold to several persons. There is no transfer yet. Only the sale deed has been taken out by someone as part of a malicious campaign against me.”He added that his son had purchased the land from his own savings. “Hundreds of people have purchased land there. But only my son’s name has been highlighted because he is the son of a Chief Secretary. The policy has already been stayed by the NGT. When the government is not doing anything about the policy, how can they accuse us of conflict of interest? Had I got something done for him as Financial Commissioner (Revenue) or as Chief Secretary, then it could have been a conflict of interest,” he said.At the same time, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Vikas Garg’s father, Jagdish Garg, also owns a piece of land in Seonk village in Majri block, Mohali.Garg told The Indian Express, “I have not done anything wrong. My father is a pensioner. He used his own funds to buy this land in 2021. I had duly informed Chief Secretary KAP Sinha when the farm house policy was being formulated. I had offered to recuse myself from the policy. I was directed to put it on record before the Department of Personnel of the state government, which I did. The land in question is not even one acre. It is less than that. So, the policy does not cover this piece of land.”He further said that the land had been delisted and that there was no construction on it.Story continues below this adThe issue surfaced after Ludhiana-based activist forum Public Action Committee (PAC) filed a petition before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on May 12, after being directed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to approach the tribunal.In its petition, the PAC alleged that “the impugned policy raises a serious issue of conflict of interest and institutional fairness.” The plea stated that the policy had been signed and issued by Vikas Garg, IAS, Principal Secretary to the Government of Punjab, Department of Housing and Urban Development, while revenue records showed that Jagdish Garg, father of Vikas Garg, owned land in the same delisted or listed Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) area to which the policy applies.The petition further stated that Shivam Sinha, son of KAP Sinha, also owned land in a similar category of listed or delisted PLPA land. According to the petitioners, the policy permits approval and regularisation of construction activity on delisted PLPA and forest-influenced lands, which were otherwise meant only for bona fide agriculture and livelihood purposes.The PAC argued that the policy appeared to confer benefit upon persons having private land interests in the same ecologically fragile area and was contrary to the Public Trust Doctrine.Story continues below this adThe LIGH policy is a framework devised by the Punjab government to regulate and regularise low-impact farm houses and residential structures in ecologically sensitive “delisted” lands, particularly in the Shivalik-Kandi belt.The petitioners contended that the policy effectively permits conversion of large tracts of ecologically fragile land, including areas earlier governed under the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900 and subsequently delisted, into residential, commercial and real estate-driven developments, fundamentally altering the ecological character of such lands and causing irreversible environmental damage.Seeking to quash the policy, notified on November 20, 2025, the PAC claimed that it illegally allows construction in ecologically sensitive areas of the Shivalik-Kandi belt, threatening Punjab’s already limited forest cover.“In the absence of demarcation, hundreds of illegal buildings and permanent structures have mushroomed in the ecologically sensitive Shivalik foothills and Kandi belt regions,” the plea stated, adding that such constructions were allegedly in violation of Supreme Court directions as well as the Punjab Eco-Tourism Policy, 2018, which, according to the petition, does not permit permanent construction in delisted zones.Story continues below this adThe LIGH policy applies to delisted areas under the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900 in five districts — SAS Nagar, Rupnagar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Hoshiarpur and Pathankot. It permits G+1 residential buildings, paved roads and regularisation of existing structures on plots measuring at least 4,000 square yards upon payment of a fee.The PAC argued that these lands were delisted only for bona fide agricultural use and livelihood purposes, in line with Supreme Court orders and Ministry of Environment and Forests guidelines. It alleged that the policy violates the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 by permitting non-forest activities without central approval.The petitioners also raised concerns over the absence of proper khasra-wise demarcation of delisted land, which they said could lead to misuse on actual forest areas. They further pointed to the lack of environmental impact assessment, slope stability studies and carrying-capacity evaluation.The plea also stated that the policy relied on Punjab Building Rules, 2025, which were later withdrawn, and alleged that subsequent amendments removed Forest Department oversight.Story continues below this adAccording to the petition, the five districts together account for nearly 68 per cent of Punjab’s total forest cover, which itself constitutes only 3.67 per cent of the state’s geographical area. The petition warned that construction activity in these areas could increase soil erosion, disrupt wildlife corridors and adversely affect water resources.The applicants had earlier approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court but were directed to move the NGT because of the environmental nature of the dispute.The PAC has sought quashing of the notification and a stay on all approvals under the LIGH policy until the matter is decided.The NGT on Wednesday issued notice to the Punjab government. The matter is now listed for hearing on July 21.Sinha said, “We will reply to the NGT.”