SC issues notices to Environment

New Delhi, Nov 25 (UNI) The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Union Ministry for Environment and Forest on a PIL requesting the court to lay down some guidelines for construction of roads in hilly areas to minimise the damage to the delicate ecological balance in the mountain areas.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, Justice Arijit Pasayat, Justice S H Kapadia yesterday issued notices, returnable in four weeks, on the petition filed by J P Dabral of Himalaya Chipko Foundation.

The notices were issued after Dabral appeared in person and contended before the court that illegal construction of roads in the hilly forest areas expose them to the dangers of landslide, erosion and the fertility of the land.

Contractors generally throw the dug out soil and debris down the slope which destroys the vegetation. Such disposal of debris also result in silting of the river basin, interruption in natural drainage system and loss of nature springs lying beneath the alignment of the road.

The construction can be carried out only within the limits of 'Right of Way' but the practice of throwing debris down the slope violates the limits imposed by the law for construction in the hilly areas which damages the wildlife and forests in the area. Such activities create geological disturbance in the area which is specifically harmful to the Himalayas, a young and fragile mountain range.

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