Forest panel rejects Uttarakhand HC relocation plan again over forest land concerns

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New DelhiThe proposal to permanently shift the Uttarakhand High Court from Nainital to Haldwani has suffered another setback, with a Union Environment Ministry panel rejecting the State government’s plan to divert 30 hectares of reserved forest land in the Lamachaur area.

The Regional Empowered Committee (REC), which examined the proposal at its October 16 meeting in Dehradun, said the State had not adequately explored suitable non-forest alternatives. It also flagged shortcomings in site-specific justification, project documentation, layout plans and wildlife protection measures.

“The proposal has been submitted for a specific forest land site without providing sufficient justification regarding the examination of alternative sites,” the REC said in its decision.

The committee directed the State government to explore the possibility of locating the proposed project on suitable non-forest land before pursuing forest clearance.

The proposed site near Belbaba Temple falls within the Bhakhra Range of the Tarai Central Forest Division. The project would require the felling of 123 trees. The committee also raised concerns about the possibility of an elephant corridor in the area and sought clarity on the legal status of the existing High Court land in Nainital.

The State had proposed compensatory afforestation across 60 hectares at an estimated cost of more than ₹3.68 crore. However, the panel questioned why non-forest land could not be identified for the court complex when such land could be considered for compensatory plantations.

During the meeting, the High Court’s representative argued that relocation was necessary because the existing premises in Nainital lacked space to accommodate the growing number of staff and members of the Bar. Pending cases have risen from around 4,000 in 2010 to more than 64,000 currently.

The representative also cited high accommodation costs for litigants, as well as frequent traffic congestion in Nainital, a major tourist destination.

This is the second setback for the relocation plan. In January 2024, an earlier proposal to shift the High Court to Gaulapar was rejected. That project would have required the felling of 4,238 trees and also included residential construction.

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