‘HP may vanish from map’: SC tells Centre, state that ‘earning revenue is not everything’

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has told the Centre and the Himachal Pradesh government that “earning revenue is not everything”, warning that if the current trajectory of ecological degradation continues, “the entire State of HP may vanish into thin air from the map of the country”.

Adding grimly that “God forbid this doesn’t happen”, a bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan said revenue generation cannot come at the cost of environmental and ecological destruction.

The Justice Pardiwala-led Bench not only dismissed a private hotel company’s plea challenging the Himachal Pradesh government’s notification declaring Shri Tara Mata Hill a “green area”, but also pulled up both the state and Union governments for failing to protect the fragile Himalayan ecology.

The petitioner – M/s Pristine Hotels and Resorts Pvt. Ltd. – had challenged a June 6, 2025, notification restricting new private construction on Tara Mata Hill, arguing that the restrictions were imposed in contravention of the Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning Act, 1977.

After the Himachal Pradesh High Court had rejected the petition on the grounds that the company could not be said to be an aggrieved person as it did not have land ownership or permission to purchase land in the state, Pristine Hotels and Resorts moved a special leave petition before the Supreme Court.

However, the apex court refused to intervene.

“We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court,” the apex court said, while turning the spotlight on the numerous environmental issues being faced by Himachal Pradesh.

It observed that while the move to notify green areas was “laudable”, it had come too late.

“The situation in the state of Himachal Pradesh has gone from bad to worse. The severe ecological imbalance and other environmental conditions have led to serious natural calamities over a period of years,” the Justice Pardiwala-led Bench said, citing repeated floods, landslides, and large-scale destruction of life and property.

“It is not right to blame only nature for the disaster in Himachal Pradesh. Humans, not nature, are responsible for phenomena such as continuous land sliding of mountains, collapsing of houses and buildings, subsidence of roads, etc.,” the Supreme Court added.

The top court attributed the environmental degradation to hydro power projects, unregulated road construction, deforestation, and unchecked tourism.

“Unrelenting building, tunnel, and road construction, frequently done without sufficient environmental planning, has increased the area’s susceptibility to natural disasters and the effects of climate change,” it said.

Further, the apex court raised alarm over unchecked tourism, poor solid waste management, illegal mining, and the rapid pace of infrastructure development.

“The uncontrolled growth of tourism has strained the state’s environment. [H]ill towns often struggle with waste disposal and water shortages during tourist seasons…If left unchecked, the pressure from tourism could severely undermine the ecological and social fabric of the State.”

In the larger public interest, the Supreme Court ordered its registry to register a fresh suo motu writ petition to monitor environmental conditions in Himachal Pradesh.

“We call upon the state of Himachal Pradesh to file its response to what has fallen from us, more particularly the issues which we have discussed in the preceding parts of this order,” it said, asking the state government to submit a detailed action plan within four weeks.

Fixing the next date of hearing on August 25, the apex court issued notices to the Chief Secretary of Himachal Pradesh and the Secretary of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change.

IANS