NGT rejects request to withdraw petition accusing religious sect of environmental damage in Himachal’s Kangra
The NGT impleads the divisional forest officer in the matter related to the petition against the activities of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) at Paror in Kangra.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) listed the matter for further hearing on April 28. (File photo) The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has declined a request to withdraw a petition filed against the activities of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) at Paror in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, maintaining that an application raising substantial environmental questions in the public interest cannot be dismissed without passing an appropriate order.
In its March 2 order, however, the NGT allowed the petitioners to withdraw from the proceedings and directed that the NGT Bar Association’s Legal Aid Committee be substituted as the applicant. The NGT directed its registry to make necessary amendments to the memo of parties.
A bench comprising Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and Expert Member Dr A Senthil Vel also directed the divisional forest officer (DFO) in Kangra to examine a joint committee report prepared by District Magistrate Hemraj Bairwa, which indicated illegal felling of trees and other environmental violations on the religious sect’s premises.
The NGT listed the matter for further hearing on April 28.
The NGT said in its order, “Pritam Singh, representative of the applicants (Seema Kumari and others), has made a statement seeking dismissal of the present Original Application as withdrawn. The Original Application, which raises substantial environmental questions in public interest, cannot be allowed to be withdrawn on statement of the applicants, who represent small group of the general public and cannot be dismissed as withdrawn on the basis of their statement without adjudication of substantial environmental questions raised in public interest and also without passing of appropriate orders for remediation of the environmental damage stated to have been caused.”
Report prepared by district magistrate
Commenting on the joint committee’s findings, the NGT stated that its report indicated hill cutting and dumping of muck in a waterbody. “The muck dumping is in the water course as well as the banks of the water body. Approvals and permissions for such hill cutting and dumping/reclamation of the water body to be provided. The original course of the water body as per the revenue map to be provided, and the area reclaimed may be indicated. 35 trees are stated to have been illegally felled, but such illegal felling of trees has been penalized with a meagre amount by compounding for a total compensation of Rs 5,000, whereas the cost of the timber would be much higher than the value compensated,” its order read.
The NGT directed the Kangra DFO to re-examine the issue of the penalty imposed for illegal felling of trees as well as other aspects highlighted above and file a response giving all requisite details, including “the boundary which existed prior to the new demarcation and also the boundary as per fresh demarcation and to indicate if the area of tree felling/hill cutting/reclamation falls within the freshly demarcated forest area or in the old forest area as per the earlier map”.
The NGT also directed the registry to issue a notice to the newly impleaded DFO.
The case originated from a letter petition sent by Seema Kumari, pradhan of the Ghaneta gram panchayat in Kangra and others in October 2025, alleging environmental degradation caused by the sect’s activities at one of its properties in Paror.
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