Green tribunal orders classification of Nainital town into prohibited, regulated, development zones

A bench of Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member Afroz Ahmad, from the principal bench, passed the order on September 9, in a case relating to large-scale and unauthorized tree cutting in forest areas adjacent to Nainital in the last few years, which it was alleged caused damage to forest areas and affected recharging of Naini Lake.

“…We are of view that based on carrying capacity and environmental sensitivity, Nainital town may be classified in different zones…development or prohibited zone, regulated zone with rider based on existing state of environmental conditions,” the order stated.

Carrying capacity refers to the maximum threshold of population an area can bear in relation to the available resources.

The tribunal enlarged the scope of the case and with the help of amicus curiae, advocate Akash Vashishtha, examined many other important environmental issues affecting the town.

The tribunal also directed the Uttarakhand government to implement catchment area treatment plans for rehabilitation of the several natural lakes which attract tourism to Nainital from around the country. The bench noted that Nainital in Kumaon division is a major tourist attraction due to several lakes and they create a beautiful landscape.

“We are of the view, that foremost importance should be attached to rehabilitation of these lakes by implementing various engineering and ecological measures vis-à-vis catchment area treatment by concerned departments in consultation of experts in the field and this aspect may also be looked into by the State of Uttarakhand,” the order said.

The order comes at a time when Nainital Lake or Naini Lake has been under threat of drying up due to climate change-linked environmental factors as well as unchecked development activities such as encroachments and tree felling in the lake’s catchment area.

The tribunal directed the Uttarakhand chief secretary to ensure compliance of its orders through relevant departments and asked it to submit a compliance report by December 15.

Earlier, during the hearings, the bench had formed a joint committee to look into illegal tree felling. The committee had found five cases of illegal tree felling involving 44 trees. In its order, the bench noted important findings and recommendations made by the amicus curiae.

The amicus had submitted to the NGT that several instances of environmentally damaging activities on the hill slopes and around the lake areas were underway. These included felling of oak and deodar trees in the catchment area of Naini Lake, tree felling for creating parking areas of hotels and construction on steep slopes in Mallital among others.

The report of the amicus curiae also pointed out mushrooming of a large number of hotels and resorts in a haphazard way which, it has observed, has taken a toll on the planning, regulation, sewage management and waste management. “It is submitted that contrary to the stated figure of 148 hotels, Nainital has 600-700 hotels/resorts/guest houses/ homestays etc,” said the NGT order, quoting the report of the amicus.

Key recommendations by amicus curiae

Based on the site visit and the findings, the amicus had submitted a set of recommendations to the green court. Key among them was the recommendation to determine the carrying capacity of Nainital town.

This carrying capacity was recommended to be based on factors such as hydrology, drainage and sanitation load bearing status, vegetation and current tourism trends. The amicus report also recommended creation of master plans and carrying capacity for Pangot and all other tourist destinations in Nainital as well as other districts of the state.