Shimla/New Delhi, Sept. 3 -- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and the state governments of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to initiate steps for declaring the higher reaches of the Himalayas as an eco-sensitive zone.
The tribunal's direction assumes critical importance in light of the massive devastation witnessed in recent monsoon, where heavy rainfall combined with large-scale construction of four-lane highways, tunnels and hydropower projects caused widespread landslides, flash floods, and loss of lives.
Experts and environmentalists have consistently warned that unchecked infrastructure development in the fragile Himalayan ecosystem has aggravated th...