‘Himachal May Vanish From Map’: Supreme Court’s Dire Climate Warning
The Supreme Court has issued a dire warning over the severe environmental degradation in Himachal Pradesh, stating that the state could “vanish in thin air from the map of the country” if urgent and decisive action is not taken to address the ongoing ecological damage. The court stressed that revenue generation cannot come at the cost of the environment.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan made the sharp observations on July 28 while hearing a petition related to a June 2025 notification designating certain areas as “green zones” to curb construction. The court noted that climate change is having a “visible and alarming impact” on the fragile Himalayan state. “We want to impress upon the state government and the Union of India that earning revenue is not everything,” the bench stated emphatically.
Expressing deep concern over the increasing frequency of natural disasters in the state, the court observed that human activity, not nature alone, is largely responsible for the recurrent landslides, road collapses, and building failures. “The nature definitely is annoyed with the activities that are going on in Himachal Pradesh,” the bench remarked. The court upheld a Himachal Pradesh High Court order that had declined to interfere with the state’s notification to restrict unregulated development.
Citing expert reports, the Supreme Court identified unchecked hydropower projects, rapid road expansion, widespread deforestation, and unregulated multi-story construction as primary drivers of the environmental crisis. The judges highlighted that these activities, often executed without proper environmental planning, have made the region dangerously vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as rising temperatures and erratic weather patterns.
The court pointed out that while forests cover over 66% of the state’s land, this natural wealth is under threat from “human greed and apathy.” It also flagged the pressures of unregulated tourism, warning that it could severely undermine the state’s delicate ecological and social fabric if left unchecked.
In its concluding remarks, the bench called for coordinated action among all Himalayan states and stressed that both the state and central governments have a responsibility to halt further ecological damage. “All that we want to convey today is that it is high time the state of HP pays attention to what we have observed and starts taking necessary action at the earliest in the right direction,” the court urged.
