The Supreme Court has expressed serious concern about illegal trees in the Himalayan areas amidst the continuous floods and landslides in North India. The court on Thursday said that this is a clear indication of environmental destruction after videos of wooden sticks flowed in rivers during floods in Himachal Pradesh.
Chief Justice BR on a PIL raising the issue of environmental erosion in the Himalayan region. Gawai and Justice K.K. Vinod Chandran’s bench said during the hearing, “We have seen unprecedented landslides and floods in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. It is clear from media reports and videos that large quantities of wood are flowing in the floods. At first sight it seems to be the result of illegal harvesting. Notice should be issued on it.” The court directed the Center and the concerned states to file replies within two weeks.
The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Central Government’s Environment and Water Power Ministries, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Highways Authority (NHAI) and Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir governments. The court made it clear that the case is very serious and central agencies will also be included in it.
The petitioner’s counsel expressed another concern at the hearing. He said that there are 14 tunnels between Chandigarh to Manali, which become trapped for passengers during rain and landslides. Recently, 300 people were trapped in one such tunnel.
During the hearing, the bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, “This is a serious issue. In the media we have seen that huge amounts of wood are flowing in rivers in Himachal and Uttarakhand. Illegal trees are being harvested.” On this, Mehta assured that he would immediately talk to the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and take direct information from the Chief Secretaries of the concerned states.
Many videos have gone viral on social media, in which wooden logs are seen flowing in the rivers of Chamba and other areas. Experts say that this may be the result of the activism of the timber mafia, which are spoiling the environmental balance by cutting illegal trees in the mountains. This move of the Supreme Court is not only important in the backdrop of the current disaster, but also gives an important indication about monitoring environmental protection and development projects in the Himalayan states in the coming times.
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