abuse of power: In another recent order, the SC proclaimed for the first time, the 'doctrine of public trust' in environmental protection while revoking the lease of prime forest land along the Kulu-Manali highway in Himachal Pradesh. The lease was granted by the Union ministry of environment and forests in 1993 to Span Motels, owned by Kamal Nath, former environment minister. The court's order was based on a report by a high-level team of the Central Pollution Control Board which revealed that the hotel management had illegally acquired 27 bighas (varying locally from 1/8 to 2/5 ha) of forest land and diverted the river Beas to protect its property from floods.
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