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The Supreme Court of India has issued a directive to the Himachal Pradesh Government regarding the Shimla draft development plan. The court instructed the government to carefully consider the objections raised against the plan and make a decision accordingly. The final development plan is required to be published within a period of six weeks from the date of the court's ruling.
It is important to note that the court specified that the final development plan should not be implemented until one month after its publication. Additionally, the court emphasized that no construction should be permitted based on the draft development plan alone.
During the hearing of a petition titled "The State of Himachal Pradesh and others" on May 3, the Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice B R Gavai, Justice Vikram Nath, and Justice Sanjay Karol, was informed that the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) directions had hindered the publication of the final development plan, which was currently in the stage of a draft notification. The Advocate General of Himachal Pradesh further informed the court that a total of 97 objections had been received regarding the draft development plan.
Considering the circumstances of the case, the court concluded that it would be appropriate for the state government to address the objections raised and then issue a final development plan based on due consideration.
Furthermore, the counsel representing the applicants expressed concerns about unauthorized constructions taking place without a sanctioned plan. The court clarified that any construction carried out without a sanctioned plan would indeed be considered unauthorized. As a remedy, the court granted the applicants the liberty to approach the High Court and bring such unauthorized constructions to its attention through Article 226 of the Constitution.
In a previous judgment on October 14 of the previous year, the National Green Tribunal had deemed the Shimla Draft Development Plan to be in conflict with its ruling of November 16, 2017. The Tribunal declared the plan to be illegal and stated that it should not be implemented.
The Principal Bench of the Tribunal, led by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, carefully considered the matter and concluded that the state's position could not be upheld. The Tribunal emphasized that once a decision has been made by the Tribunal, it should be considered final unless overturned by a legal forum. The state does not possess the jurisdiction to annul or ignore the Tribunal's order. The Tribunal expressed concern that any other interpretation would undermine the rule of law and the purpose of establishing the Tribunal.
The Tribunal further noted that the state's viewpoint does not hold ultimate authority due to the overriding provisions of the NGT Act, as stipulated in Section 33.
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