HC stops road construction on reserve forest land

It has damaged the Bird Conservation Reserve by destroying valuable reserve forest area, the PIL filed by a Gram Pradhan said.It was further alleged that Poonam Chand is also providing official facilities to Jindal in carrying out his project.The Forest department recently approved a handmade map which has been converted into a digital map with coordinates for the builders convenience.

The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday stopped the construction of a motorable road on a reserve forest land at Pangot in Nainital.

A division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice RC Khulbe put a ban on the construction of the road while hearing a PIL that said it was being built illegally.

The division bench issued notices to the District Magistrate Nainital, DFO Nainital, Additional Director Tourism Poonam Chand and the builder Upendra Jindal.

The court has also banned the use of bulldozers in the area. The Court will now hear the matter on February 15, 2023.

The road is located in the Naina Devi Bird Reserve at Kilbury, Pangot area of Nainital. The sanction was just for a village pedestrian path through the reserve forest but the builder bought the village land allegedly with the help of Poonam Chand, an officer of the tourism department, in 2013 and began building a motorable road in the area to make a four-storeyed hotel he owns in Pangot accessible to people, the PIL said. It has damaged the Bird Conservation Reserve by destroying valuable reserve forest area, the PIL filed by a Gram Pradhan said.

It was further alleged that Poonam Chand is also providing official facilities to Jindal in carrying out his project.

The Forest department recently approved a handmade map which has been converted into a digital map with coordinates for the builder's convenience. The construction is being done even when no such road was approved by any authority in favour of the builder. Now the Gram Panchayat, Budhalakot has informed the government that there is no need for a 'pedestrian path' as well since in the past 10 years the villagers have started using the forest path.

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