Shimla: The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has summoned senior officials from the Forest, Public Works Department (PWD), and Revenue Departments in connection with alleged large-scale illegalities in road construction, illegal mining, and timber smuggling within demarcated protected forests (DPFs) of Village Himri and adjoining areas under the Shimla Rural constituency.
The proceedings arise from Interlocutory Application (IA) Nos. 140072 and 140078 of 2025, filed by petitioner Vijayendra Pal Singh, a resident of Village Himri. The applications relate to the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s order dated June 25, 2025, which imposed a stay on the felling of 875 trees for the proposed Himri–Nallah road project.
Acting under the direction of the CEC, the petitioner has submitted additional material pointing to widespread irregularities, manipulation of official data, and suspected forgery of documents undertaken to obtain forest clearances in violation of the Forest Rights Act. The submissions allege collusion between local authorities and an entrenched forest mafia network that has enabled unauthorised road construction and timber smuggling operations.
Meanwhile, a Public Interest Litigation (CWPIL) on the same issue is already under consideration before the Hon’ble High Court of Himachal Pradesh since June 2024. In that case, the environmental NGO Pahari Samaj Paryavarni Kawach has been impleaded as a party, supporting the petitioner’s concerns and calling for judicial oversight to prevent further ecological degradation in the Himri forest belt.
The petitioner, Vijayendra Pal Singh, has alleged that over 17 kilometers of unapproved roads have been constructed within protected forest areas using funds from local administrative and panchayat sources, reflecting a pattern of official complicity and misuse of public resources.
He has further stated that repeated complaints to the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau have yielded no tangible results, prompting a plea before the Hon’ble Supreme Court to transfer the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The CEC’s forthcoming hearing is expected to examine the authenticity of forest clearance documents, the role of district-level officials and local panchayat and the scale of environmental violations. The case is likely to have significant implications for forest governance, transparency, and environmental accountability in Himachal Pradesh.
