As Himachal HC Turns To Save Bakrota Hills, Supreme Court Warning Echoes Afresh

Over a year after the Supreme Court (SC) warned that Himachal Pradesh could “vanish in thin air” from the country’s map under the assault of reckless construction, especially in pristine hills like Shimla, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has sounded another alarm.

This time, the court has turned its attention to the fragile Bakrota Hills near Dalhousie, where unsustainable construction and commercialisation are putting the region’s green mountain valleys and fragile ecology under strain.

The court’s intervention comes against the backdrop of a broader warning that development at the expense of the environment has led to serious natural calamities over the years due to deforestation and the construction of multi-storey buildings.

“The danger to natural richness is growing as a result of human greed and apathy. Development-related projects are resulting in tree felling and habitat fragmentation. It cannot be denied that a loss of forest will occur, as many as 67 green trees would necessarily face the axe,” the High Court said on Wednesday.

In its 31-page order, a division bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court quashed permission for a Change of Land Use (CLU), issued in January 2020, allowing a residential property at Bakrota to be converted into a commercial property. The court held that the move would open the floodgates to the commercialisation of Bakrota, a quaint hill station.

The Bench of Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chander Negi observed, “This permission to convert residential property to commercial use cannot be allowed.

“It violates the development plan, which carries statutory force and defines the areas that can be urbanised and those that are not permitted to be urbanised,” the Bench said.

Development Plan Under Strain

The order was passed on a petition filed by the ‘Upper Bakrota Residents’ Association’, which had raised concerns that the Change of Land Use (CLU) was in complete violation of the development plan and could also result in massive ecological destruction if the promoters of the project were not stopped.

The counsel for the petitioner, Advocate Devan Khanna, had argued that the notified Development Plan was sacrosanct and could not be ignored. He submitted that the action permitting the CLU was manifestly arbitrary and that the impugned order was non-speaking and devoid of valid reasoning or any element of public interest. Furthermore, he contended that the carrying capacity of the area was not taken into consideration.

Referring to the Supreme Court’s judgment in M/s Pristine Hotels and Resorts, relating to the proposed construction of a resort on the Taradevi Hills of Shimla, the High Court observed that allowing construction at Bakrota Hill would amount to a violation of the observations and directions of the apex court issued on July 2, 2025.

In the said case, the apex court, while noting the blatant growth of construction activities being carried out in Himachal Pradesh, concluded that the situation in the state had gone from bad to worse. This development had led to serious natural calamities over a period of years on account of deforestation and the construction of multi-storey buildings, the order said.

The Bench made it clear that Bakrota Hills fall within the restricted area under the Dalhousie Planning Area. The respondent, Prit Pal Singh, had initially constructed a residential building in Bakrota, comprising six blocks with separate bathrooms, with a total coverage area of 486 square metres.

The proposed structure was further designed to accommodate around 24 persons and included a basement, ground floor, mezzanine, and first, second and third floors.

The Bench said, “The whole case revolves around the private interest of the respondent, who seeks to develop the property on a commercial basis. Merely because he owns the land and purchased it way back in the year 1993 does not grant him a licence to utilise the property for purposes other than those permitted under the notification dated 27.12.2004. In such circumstances, we are of the considered opinion that the present writ petition is liable to be allowed, and accordingly, the January 3, 2020, order is set aside.”

The court also took note of how authorities could use discretionary powers to grant permissions or allow Change of Land Use, especially when their actions could cause serious environmental damage.

“The widespread exercise of discretionary power in this manner causes rampant environmental damage if such an order were allowed to stand. It would lead to further consequential damage to the Bakrota area, which, as noted, is a pristine green belt at the top of the Dalhousie peaks, offering a bird’s-eye view of the plains below and remaining densely forested heights.”

Bakrota’s Fragile Ecology

The picturesque Bakrota Hills is among the most beautiful spots in Dalhousie, surrounded by majestic snow-clad mountains and serene landscapes.

“There is a beautiful place called ‘Bakrota Mall’ which lets you catch a glimpse of the snow-clad peaks of the Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal Himalayas,” said Sumit Mahajan, a Dalhousie resident.

It is said that Rabindranath Tagore also visited Bakrota at the age of 14 and wrote about the place and its untouched beauty, forest tracks and snow-laden mountain peaks.

Former Congress minister and six-time Dalhousie MLA Asha Kumari, when contacted, said, “Former Chief Minister, the late Virbhadra Singh, was opposed to allowing commercial activity at Bakrota, fearing that it would lead to reckless construction and environmental degradation. He (Virbhadra) was particularly concerned about the felling of forests, as had happened in towns like Shimla, Manali, Dalhousie and Dharamshala. The previous BJP government, however, allowed blatant violations in the name of promoting tourism and development, putting the fragile ecology of the area at risk.”

Shimla is facing a fresh and escalating construction boom in its green belts and heritage areas after the government favoured lifting the ban in the green belt imposed by the National Green Tribunal.

More than a dozen cases of tree felling, mainly deodars, for new construction have come to light. A hotel project was allowed in a restricted zone after a change in land use.

Located in seismic Zone IV, the hill town is already under severe pressure, with construction pushing beyond its ecological carrying capacity. The consequences are increasingly visible during the monsoon in the form of landslides, multi-storey building collapses and falling trees. This is the result of pushing development further into its fragile slopes.

The concerns raised by both the Supreme Court and the High Court, in two different cases, about the threat of ecological disasters are far from unfounded, admits Rajnish Maniktala, a senior advocate.