THE SUPREME COURT TODAY said it will appoint an amicus curiae to assist in the suo motu proceedings over ecological imbalance in Himachal Pradesh.
A Division Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta posted the matter for hearing after four weeks, noting that the state government had filed a report on August 23.
The case stems from an order passed on July 28 by a Division Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, which had observed that Himachal Pradesh might “vanish in thin air” if urgent corrective steps were not taken.
That Bench’s observation over the alarming environmental conditions in the hill state had come in the course of hearing a plea against a Himachal Pradesh High Court order refusing to interfere with a June 2025 state notification declaring certain areas as “green zones.”
While declining to interfere with the High Court’s order, the Supreme Court said the state’s decision appeared aimed at curbing unregulated construction, but stressed that the situation had already deteriorated due to the visible and alarming impact of climate change.
The Court had also flagged hydropower projects, widening of highways with four-lane roads, deforestation, and unplanned multi-storey buildings as major contributors to the state’s ecological crisis. It stressed that the views of geologists, environmental experts, and local communities must be sought before any development project is approved.
Tourism, though a key source of revenue for Himachal, has been allowed to grow in an uncontrolled manner, putting severe strain on fragile ecosystems, the Court observed. It noted that the Union government too had a duty to ensure that the ecological balance in the state is preserved and that Himachal is not pushed towards more natural calamities.
The Court then directed the Registry to register the issue as a writ petition in public interest and asked the state government to explain whether it has a clear action plan to address the environmental challenges.