Uttarakhand

• 21 May 2024

SC Stays Project in Uttarakhand Forested Area

Why in News?

Recently, the Supreme Court has halted a major hotel development in the Bhimtal-Mukteshwar region due to concerns raised in a petition about extensive deforestation in the lush Jilling Estate area.

Key Points

• According to the court, the thickly forested patch was permitted to be deforested for a hotel project, which intends to carry out construction activities on an area of 20,000 square feet.
  • It would cause irreparable damage to the fragile ecology of the area that could adversely impact the interest of the state to maintain adequate forest cover.
• The main issue lies here is that the High Court permitted construction to go ahead without the mandatory environmental clearance under the Environment Impact Assessment Notification of 2006.
  • SC had recently expressed serious concern over the lackadaisical approach of the state government in controlling forest fires that recur every year.