No tarring, work on HP forest roads till further orders: High Court
SHIMLA: Taking a grim view of environmental violations in ecologically fragile terrains, the Himachal Pradesh High Court on Tuesday reiterated its complete ban on the construction and tarring of forest roads across the state until further orders.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin C. Negi issued the direction while hearing a cluster of Public Interest Litigations (PILs) challenging unchecked infrastructure activity in sensitive hill tracts, reaffirming an earlier restraint order passed on August 17.
The court's intervention followed a damning submission by the Amicus Curiae, who placed on record a detailed chart revealing that as many as 55 roads have been carved out in direct violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, across the Seraj Assembly Constituency and the Nachan Forest Division.
The report highlighted a glaring bypass of statutory procedure, pointing out that while statutory proposals from the User Agency were yet to be received, the roads were already operational on the ground in a majority of instances.
The Bench was further informed of widespread misuse of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006. The Amicus Curiae submitted that clearances had been wrongly granted under the legislation, ostensibly for extraneous purposes rather than the legitimate welfare of forest dwellers or the conservation of forest land.
Mounting concerns over ecological disruption also brought the proliferation of aviation infrastructure under judicial scrutiny. The court was apprised that as many as 16 helipads have been constructed in Seraj alone, severely fragmenting wildlife habitats in the absence of mandatory impact assessments.
The Amicus Curiae emphasized that large-scale felling of green trees was resorted to facilitate these road networks and landing pads, dealing a severe blow to the local canopy.
Refusing any leeway to executing agencies, the Bench ordered strict adherence to the freeze on all roadwork and tarring in forested belts, posting the matter for further hearing on December 2.
