Why in the News
Construction in Himachal Pradesh should shift from a “permission-based approach”, clearing projects one at a time, to a coordinated system built on scientific carrying capacity assessment (how much tourism and building a place can bear). The Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee (CEC) proposed this in a first phase report, along with risk-sensitive planning, joint regulation by departments and continuous compliance monitoring. A three judge bench has given the State government time to respond.
What is the CEC, and what has the Supreme Court asked it to examine?
- What it is: The CEC is a Supreme Court committee that advises the Court on environment and forest petitions and helps monitor its orders, like the Court’s own field inspector.
- Why the case began: The Court took suo motu cognizance (acting on its own, without a petition) of Himachal’s environmental concerns in July 2025, citing developmental pressures, landslides and a fragile ecosystem.
- Nine issues, four examined: In July 2026 the Court asked the CEC to examine nine thematic issues. The first phase covered hydroelectric projects, compensatory afforestation, roads, and tourism and multi-storey buildings.
- Independent assessment: The CEC checked the State’s information through its own site visits and a review of existing regulatory measures.
- The takeaway: The Court now has an independent, on-the-ground audit of Himachal’s development, not only the State’s account.
What did the CEC find on Himachal’s roads, dams and tourism?
- Slope cutting and landslides: The CEC linked landslides to engineering failures and to near-vertical excavation, meaning hill slopes cut almost straight down.
- Kiratpur-Manali repairs: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) approved Rs 825 crore to stabilise the Kiratpur-Manali corridor, where geological surveys found 44 critical landslide and erosion-prone spots.
- Unrestored muck sites: Debris (muck) dumping sites of the Larji, Parvati-II and Parvati-III hydroelectric projects remain unrestored. Yet afforestation there is reported complete.
- Homestay boom: Registered homestays grew by 669.7%, against 90.8% for registered hotels, and now outnumber hotels.
Where has compensatory afforestation fallen short?
- What it is: Compensatory afforestation means planting forest elsewhere to make up for forest land handed to projects. In Himachal, hydropower, roads and transmission lines took the most forest land.
- Planting shortfall: Plantation has fallen 3,707 hectares, or 10.85%, short of the long-run target.
- Unspent money: Of Rs 865.10 crore allocated under the Annual Plan of Operations, only Rs 592.69 crore was spent, so plantation and conservation work fell behind.
What has the CEC recommended?
- Tourist load studies: Assess the carrying capacity of major tourist destinations.
- Finish pending plantation: Complete the afforestation works still owed for diverted forest land.
- Clearance for hill roads: Consider mandatory environmental clearance for hill roads of two or more lanes and for railway lines. The Ministry should review clearance exemptions for certain national highway expansions.
- Highway Ombudsman: The Union Transport Ministry and NHAI should create a mechanism to appoint an Ombudsman in each State for grievances from NHAI projects.
- Time-bound action: The State should implement the short-term and long-term measures in a time-bound manner.
Challenges
- Recommendations, not orders: The CEC only advises, so its proposals bind the State only once the Supreme Court adopts them.
- Fragmented regulation: Tourism, roads and forests sit with separate departments, so no single authority weighs the combined load on a hillside.
- Paper compliance: Afforestation recorded as complete beside unrestored muck sites shows reported compliance can differ from the ground.
Way Forward
- Geology-vetted slope design: NHAI should require geologically vetted slope designs on hill highways and bar near-vertical cuts.
- Inspection before sign-off: The State forest department should certify environmental compliance only after a site inspection.
- Single hill-planning authority: The Himachal government should create one inter-departmental body to approve tourism and road projects against the load each area can bear.
Conclusion
Himachal’s development has outrun a system that clears projects one at a time and checks compliance on paper. Whether the State accepts the shift in its response to the bench, and whether highway clearance exemptions are reviewed, is what to watch.
Key numbers
- Afforestation target, 1981-82 to 2025-26: 34,169 hectares targeted, 30,462 planted; Annual Plan of Operations 2020-21 to 2025-26, Rs 1,110.81 crore approved.
- Hotels and homestays, 2016 to 2026: hotels 2,784 to 5,311; homestays 876 to 6,743, fastest in Lahaul and Spiti (5,315%), Kinnaur (1,556%) and Hamirpur (1,500%).
- NHAI damage, 2021 to 2026: Rs 198 crore, including Rs 27 crore on Parwanoo-Solan.
- Hydro projects below 10 MW: 866 of 1,007; 136 commissioned, 470 under clearance, 217 unallotted.
Matching Previous Year Question
“[2024, GS3, 10 marks] What role do environmental NGOs and activists play in influencing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) outcomes for major projects in India? Cite four examples with all important details.”
