DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand high court has put a stop on all construction activities in the 36-acre Jilling Estate, nestled amid lush forests of Nainital, after going through Google photos taken in 2015, 2018 and 2022 that show a sharp depletion in green cover in the village.
An HC bench has appointed retired IFS officer Dvijendra Kumar Sharma as court commissioner to conduct a physical inspection and submit a report. The order was issued on November 23 by a division bench of chief justice Vipin Sanghi and justice RC Khulbe. It said no construction activities in Jilling Estate would be carried out till December 15.
While issuing directions to the state environment impact assessment authority (SEIAA), the court said, “Since we are looking at Google Map pictures, our conclusion, obviously, cannot be final. However, for prima facie evaluation, we certainly can take note of these pictures. These pictures show that even in the dense tree cover area, developmental activity has been undertaken as the roads/paths appear broader, clearly defined, and extended in their length.”
Additional chief standing counsel Pradeep Joshi told TOI that the petitioner, Birendra Singh, had sold the property to Jilling Estate back in the 1980s. “However, Singh can still complain if any unauthorised activity is being carried out in a forest area,” the ACSC said. Two years ago, Singh had approached the NGT, which dismissed his petition, and the Supreme Court, which appointed a surveyor to look into the situation. In his petition to the SC, Singh said as many as 44 villas, helipads, resort cottages and other structures were being constructed in Jilling Estate. During the hearing at the high court recently, Singh placed on record that the estate had deployed a JCB machine without obtaining permission from competent authorities. Taking all aspects into consideration, the court said, “Since prima facie it appears the estate has carried out development activities at the deemed forest, which has a dense tree cover of over 40%, we are inclined to direct a fresh inspection of the entire Jilling Estate to be conducted, so that a report is available for the court to proceed further in the matter.”
Environmentalists said any development activity in the highly-fragile Kumaon range needs to be properly thought out. Vishal Singh, noted environmentalist from Nainital, said, “Nainital is part of a highly-fragile Himalayan range and such unauthorised, large-scale constructions are an invitation to disaster. Nainital is being practically erased from all sides. We need development that suits the character of the Himalayas.”
Ajay Rawat, another environmentalist, said, “Unfortunately, builders have started penetrating areas with rich forest and biodiversity. In fact, the whole of Kumaon and Garhwal regions are under immense stress. Uttarakhand is also known as the water tower of India, as most big rivers, like Gang and Yamuna, originate here. If forests are razed, the ground water table will also deplete, which will in turn reduce rainfall and a whole chunk of land will be converted into a desert. The process of desertification has already started.”