Over 7,000 forest boundary pillars missing in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand High Court seeks Centre’s response

Chaudhary, represented by advocate Gaurav Bansal, said the disappearance of 7,375 boundary pillars — constituting more than 60 percent of the total pillars in the entire Mussoorie Division — is “unprecedented and strongly indicative of deliberate interference, possible connivance of officials posted… and potential protection by influential political or commercial interests”. He claimed the removal or displacement of these pillars has directly enabled unauthorised occupation and non-forestry use of forest land, amounting to a criminal breach of trust involving state property and posing a grave threat to the ecological security of the region, as reflected in this year’s unprecedented natural disaster.

The matter assumes significance as Mussoorie has witnessed land grabbing, illegal construction and real-estate expansion over the last few decades. On Monday, while hearing a matter on alleged encroachment in Rishikesh, the Supreme Court had remarked that state authorities were silent spectators to forest land grabbing happening in front of their eyes.

The petition on Mussoorie forest demarcation said the concentration of missing pillars in the Mussoorie and Raipur ranges makes the motive behind such systematic disappearance abundantly clear. The matter came to light in 2025 during a detailed examination by the Working Plan Wing of the Uttarakhand Forest Department.

In a letter, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Working Plan) apprised the Head of Forest Force that 7,375 boundary pillars, though shown on official maps, were found missing on the ground. The CCF expressed apprehensions regarding political patronage and internal collusion of forest officials, and recommended the constitution of a special investigation team or initiation of a CBI inquiry under court supervision. The CCF further recommended that proper boundary pillars be re-established in place of the missing ones within a time-bound period of two to three years.

A second letter by the same authority pointed out a steep rise in the personal real-estate assets of the DFO of the Mussoorie Forest Division, spread over three states. The CCF again sought urgent intervention, including the constitution of an SIT or a CBI inquiry under court supervision, to investigate the circumstances of the disappearance and to examine the assets and properties of all officers posted during the relevant period, including the Chief Conservator of Forests, Conservators of Forests and concerned Divisional Forest Officers.

Following the letters, the Centre ordered a probe into the matter in August.

The current petition has prayed for directions to the CBI to conduct a comprehensive, independent and time-bound investigation into the disappearance of boundary pillars from the Mussoorie Forest Division. It has also sought directions to the Survey of India to conduct a comprehensive, scientific and geo-referenced survey of the boundaries of all forest areas in the division, using modern surveying technologies, for accurate demarcation and preparation of authenticated maps, to determine the correct location of all missing boundary pillars and restore them. Among other prayers, it has also sought directions for transferring all forest land presently retained or controlled by revenue authorities in Uttarakhand to the Forest Department.

The petition emphasised the need for protection and conservation of the Mussoorie forests, a region of critical national ecological and hydrological importance. It cited violations of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, and guidelines laid down in the TN Godavarman Thirumulpad judgment.

“Disastrous impacts of such ecological offences have already been witnessed in this year’s unprecedented deluge in September, whose impact was so widespread that even Mussoorie–Dehradun connectivity was completely disrupted, and a rescue operation had to be launched to save stranded tourists. Because of reckless construction on such encroached forest land, there has been a significant increase in incidents of landslides in Mussoorie,” the petition said, adding that a comprehensive study by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology revealed nearly 15 percent of Mussoorie and its surrounding areas fall within a high-risk landslide zone.

Counsel for the MoEF&CC, the state government and the CBI appeared for the hearing Wednesday.