S Gopal Puri
SHIMLA:
Amid alarming floods and landslides in the Himalayan states, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and affected states, including Himachal Pradesh, to respond, raising serious concerns over what appears to be illegal deforestation as a contributing factor to the environmental disasters.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice K Vinod Chandran took note of disturbing visuals showing large volumes of timber being swept away in swollen rivers across Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.
“We have seen visuals of vast stretches flooded with logs and uprooted trees. This raises serious questions about unauthorised tree felling,” the bench noted during the hearing.
Unnatural disasters worsened by human activity, says court
While acknowledging the need for infrastructure development, the apex court stressed the importance of maintaining a balance between ecological preservation and progress.
“We cannot afford to tamper with nature endlessly. Nature is now pushing back,” the Chief Justice remarked, while requesting Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, present in the court in a separate matter, to personally flag the issue to the environment ministry for urgent intervention.
Petition seeks SIT probe, action plan to prevent recurrence
The bench was hearing a plea filed by petitioner Anamika Rana, through advocates Akash Vashishtha and Shubham Upadhyay, calling for a special investigation team (SIT) to look into the root causes of the recent floods and landslides, including the potential role of reckless construction, deforestation and poor regulatory oversight.
The petition accuses both central and state disaster management agencies of failing to implement pre-emptive measures, despite having full knowledge of the region’s vulnerability to extreme weather events.
“Despite dedicated authorities, no meaningful mitigation plan exists,” the petition said, adding that the frequency and intensity of natural disasters in the Himalayan region have escalated in recent years.
Call for expert committee to investigate road, dam projects
Among the relief sought is the constitution of an independent expert panel to evaluate all ongoing and completed road or highway construction projects, especially in areas where landslides and flooding have occurred. The petitioner urged geological and environmental audits of such projects to assess their impact.
The plea also seeks a comprehensive action plan to prevent future disasters, emergency relief and rescue infrastructure for affected regions, accountability from the Ministries of Environment and Jal Shakti for failing to safeguard the fragile Himalayan ecosystem.
The bench has issued notices to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, NHAI and the governments of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab, giving them time to respond. The case will be heard again in two weeks.
