Supreme Court to hear govt plea against NGT order quashing Shimla draft plan

Pratibha Chauhan

Shimla, November 30

A writ petition filed by the Himachal Government in the High Court against the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order quashing the Shimla Draft Development Plan (SDDP) in July 2022 shall now be transferred to the Supreme Court so that it can be taken up along with other pending cases on the same issue.

A Supreme Court Bench comprising Justice BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant and Justice JB Pardiwala heard the case last week. “Since the issue is already pending before this court, the writ petition ‘State of HP Vs Yogendra Mohan Sengupta and Others’ pending before the Himachal High Court be withdrawn and transferred to this court forthwith,” the SC order read. The court also observed that on transfer, the said writ petition shall be heard along with the present appeals, pending before it.

The government had filed a writ petition before the High Court against the NGT order of October 14, 2022, terming the SDDP as illegal and in conflict with its earlier order of regulating haphazard constructions in the state capital. The NGT, headed by Justice Adarsh Goel, had observed that prima facie, the SDDP was in violation of its earlier order of November 16, 2017.

The NGT had quashed the SDDP as it had a provision allowing constructions not just in the core area but also in 17 green belts, where a blanket ban on construction was imposed in December 2000. The SDDP aimed at giving relief to violators, who were seeking regularisation of their unauthorized structures. The SDDP was prepared by taking into account the projected population of 6.25 lakh by 2041 against present 2.41 lakh.

The petitioner, Yogendra Mohan Sengupta, had contended against the SDDP, which had a provision for the construction of more stories, new constructions in banned areas and allowing buildings in sinking and sliding zones of the city.

In a landmark judgment, aimed at preventing further degradation of the “Queen of Hills”, the NGT had on November 16, 2017, prohibited all new constructions in green, forest and core areas comprising the entire region around the circular Cart Road. It had also constituted a high-powered expert committee to maintain a hawk’s eye on any violations, henceforth.

In its order of 2017, the NGT had criticised the regulatory and implementing agencies like the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department and the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) and had directed them that a development plan of the city must be put in place within three months. Bizarre as it may sound but the fact remains that a development plan is yet to replace the 1979 Interim Development Plan (IDP), on which Shimla has grown.

Construction in green belt

• The government had filed a writ petition before the High Court against the NGT order of October 14, 2022, terming the SDDP as illegal and in conflict with its earlier order of regulating haphazard constructions in the state capital
• The NGT had quashed the SDDP as it had a provision allowing constructions not just in the core area but also in 17 green belts, where a blanket ban on construction was imposed in December 2000