Uttarakhand HC seeks reply for illegal constructions in Mussoorie

On Wednesday, the Uttarakhand high court (HC), hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) alleging unauthorised construction in the notified forest regions of Mussoorie, directed the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) and the forest department to file their responses by September 22. The bench of Chief Justice RS Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma has filed the next hearing of the case after the date. The petition filed by Dehradun-resident Harjinder Singh said that despite a prohibition on any construction in the notified forest regions by the Centre and the Supreme Court, rampant construction is going on in Mussoorie, turning the hill town into a concrete jungle. The petition claims that officials have turned a blind eye to the construction work ongoing for years. According to the plea, it has put the town’s existence at risk. Additionally, the petitioner said that he approached the Centre and state authorities regarding the issue but the local administration is neither demolishing the constructions nor carrying out any reforestation exercise. Image Source Also read: DTCP razes three illegal colonies in Gurugram’s Farrukhnagar Also read: Lucknow to monitor illegal construction via digital mapping