The MoEFCC told the NGT that in-principle approval for diverting 2.35 hectares of forest land in Uttarkashi’s Gangotri Range was granted under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, though final approval is still pending.
The NGT took cognisance of reports linking deodar felling to the recent Dharali cloudburst.
In Rajasthan, a red category copper unit was found operating just 269 metres from the Bada Magra–Gangarar Reserved Forest, violating central siting norms.
The tribunal ordered a probe and criticised the state pollution board for allowing the project.
In Delhi’s Bhati village, the NGT directed authorities to secure encroached forest land and remove solid and construction waste.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), in its report to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on November 10, 2025, stated that in-principle (Stage-I) approval for three proposals involving diversion of forest land for non-forest use (totalling 2.3572 hectares) had been granted under the then Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (now Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980) in the Gangotri Range of the Uttarkashi Forest Division, Uttarakhand.
The location of Dharali falls within this forest range. Under these three proposals, permission was granted for the felling of 79 trees in total, including only 15 deodar trees.
As per regulations, an area of 2.04 hectares was earmarked by the user agency for a compensatory afforestation (CA) plantation scheme, involving the planting of 2,820 native tree species.
“In all these three diversion proposals, Stage-II/Final Approval under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 has not been accorded due to non-submission of the compliance report for in-principle (Stage-I) approval as of now,” the MoEFCC report said.
Further, approval for the Working Plan of the Uttarkashi Forest Division was granted by the MoEFCC for the period 2016-17 to 2025-26 via a letter dated December 28, 2017, subject to several conditions — notably that no tree felling shall be carried out in areas with a slope of more than 30°, along river or stream banks, or in zones vulnerable to erosion or landslides, and in areas with a crop density of less than 0.3.
It was also stipulated that the Uttarakhand government must ensure that forest regeneration corresponds with the extent of tree felling. Gaps created due to felling under the working plan should be regenerated, and no felling shall take place where regeneration is not possible.
The matter pertains to the recent devastating cloudburst in Dharali village, Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand. According to an article titled Experts blame decades of deodar tree felling for worsening Uttarkashi cloudburst published in the newspaper The New Indian Express on August 10, 2025, experts and local residents attributed the severity of the disaster to decades of unchecked and indiscriminate felling of deodar trees.
The article further stated that scientists believe the damage would have been significantly reduced — or might not have occurred at all — if Dharali had retained its old deodar forests. Taking cognisance of the report, the NGT on August 20, 2025, directed the MoEFCC to submit its response on the matter.
On November 11, 2025, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed a two-member committee to submit a report on a complaint regarding the illegal establishment of a red category industrial unit M/s Ishan Copper Industries within a prohibited buffer zone of approximately 269 metres from the Bada Magra-Gangarar Reserved Forest in Chittorgarh district, Rajasthan.
The committee has been instructed to visit the site and submit a factual and action-taken report within six weeks.
The project site of Ishan Copper Industries, situated within the RIICO Industrial Area, Soniyana, tehsil Gangrar, lies at a measured aerial distance of approximately 269 metres from the nearest reserved forest boundary, as verified through Google Earth imagery, the NGT’s Central Bench noted.
Despite this clear contravention of central siting norms, the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board proceeded to grant Consent to Establish to the said red category unit on October 1, 2025 — thereby enabling the continuation of construction activity in a location where industrial siting is environmentally impermissible.
“Such an act not only defeats the object of the MoEFCC Guidelines but also undermines the precautionary and preventive principles underlying environmental governance,” the court observed.
The MoEFCC Guidelines, notified on January 29, 2025, titled Procedure and Criteria for the Siting of Industrial Plants, lay down the central regulatory framework governing the establishment of industrial units vis-à-vis ecologically sensitive areas.
The notification clearly mandates that “Red Category industries shall not be located within 500 metres of habitation, educational institutions, places of worship, archaeological monuments, national parks, reserved forests, heritage sites, or natural drains.”
The Range Forest Officer (South Delhi) informed the NGT on November 11, 2025, that certain parcels of land in Bhati village, which are classified as forest land and under the possession of the forest department, are landlocked, leaving forest personnel without access routes.
The Tribunal directed the District Magistrate (South Delhi) to look into the matter and submit a report to the court detailing the factual position and remedial measures required.
The NGT further noted that the forest land under the department’s possession lacks proper fencing, display boards warning trespassers, and adequate tree plantation. It also observed the presence of solid waste and construction and demolition debris surrounding the forest area.
The NGT, on November 11, directed the authorities to take appropriate steps to secure the forest land through fencing—potentially using naturally grown hedges—install display boards warning trespassers, and carry out sufficient plantation using the Miyawaki method to develop a dense forest. An action-taken report with a detailed plan, budget allocations, and timelines must be submitted.
Directions were also issued for the removal of solid waste and construction and demolition debris, with a corresponding action-taken report to be filed.
The case relates to the misuse and degradation of forest land in Bhati village by Hanslok Ashram and its followers. During the hearing, videos of the forest area recorded by forest officials were played before the court.