Himachal to move court to seek regularisation of 2,183 roads

Chairing a high-level meeting of the Forest Department, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu stressed the importance of pursuing legal recourse to regularise these roads in view of the larger public interest. He directed the department to take appropriate steps in this regard.

A total of 2,183 roads have been identified across the state, including 613 in the Shimla zone, 821 in the Mandi zone, 254 in the Hamirpur zone, and 495 in the Kangra zone. These roads were built prior to the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 in Himachal Pradesh, which came into effect in the state in 2016. This Act aims to recognise and vest the forest rights in the forest-dwelling communities, who have been residing in and dependent on forest land for at least three generations.

However, in a relief to all hilly states, comprising Himachal Pradesh, the Central government has recently exempted them from seeking forest clearance for ropeway projects. The Advisory Committee of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change took up the matter on November 6, 2024, at the request of the Himachal Government.

“Keeping in view the larger public interest and the eco-friendly nature of the ropeways, it has been decided to exclude all such projects from the ambit of the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980, along with the payment of the net present value (NPV),” said the order of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest dated November 29, 2024.

“The construction of ropeways in hilly areas is an eco-friendly activity, involving minimum invasion in forest areas and almost negligible earth cutting or felling of trees. As such, there is practically negligible or no erosion, thus buttressing the ecological regimes of hilly areas. Also, this mode helps in providing safe and economical means of transport to people living in remote hilly areas,” the Advisory Committee had observed.