The High Court Tuesday directed top forest authorities to file an Action Taken Report (ATR) after examining whether the hoteliers and hut owners were using chemicals in drying up of trees in north Kashmir’s Gulmarg ski resort.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the conservation of Gulmarg health resort, a division bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Puneet Gupta directed the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, J&K as well as the Chief Conservator of Forests, Kashmir, to ensure that the matter of dying of trees as pointed out by its Registrar Judicial as Court Commissioner was looked into.
Seeking the ATR by February 2, 2021, the court asked the two authorities to conduct the physical inspection and take action in accordance with the law.
The Registrar Judicial who was earlier appointed as Court Commissioner by the court had inspected various sites in and around Gulmarg and highlighted in her report encroachments by the hoteliers and hut owners besides damage to the ecology.
Hearing an application by the Court Commissioner seeking further directions in light of the report with regard to usage of chemicals which resulted in dying of trees, the bench said that the aspect needed to be examined by the Forest department.
The court said that a copy of the application was forwarded to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, J&K, as well as to the Chief Conservator of Forests, Kashmir.
For further directions, the Court Commissioner had moved the application in the PIL in light of the report indicating rampant illegal constructions and destruction of the ecology “being allowed by the concerned author ties”.
The Court Commissioner’s report has underlined that all trees around the hotels and huts were dried “which did not appear to have occurred due to natural causes but chemicals must have been used in drying up the trees”. The report said that this could be ascertained by an expert committee of national repute.
In her report, the Court Commissioner said that during her inspection she had also found rampant illegal constructions being carried out by the hoteliers and hut owners that too “under the nose of the authorities and in connivance with them”.
Meanwhile, the court directed the Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla to ensure that its orders directing recovery of all properties in illegal and unauthorised occupation which included encroachments were complied with.
While seeking an ATR, the bench said, “We make it clear that in case ATR is not filed, we shall be compelled to initiate proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act 1997 for non-compliance of our orders.”