Item No. 15 Court No. 1 BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI Original Application No.51/2023 News item published in The Tribune dated 16^th January 2023 titled Joshimath disaster a warning for Mussoorie Date of hearing: 08.05.2025 CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE PRAKASH SHRIVASTAVA, CHAIRPERSON HON’BLE DR. A. SENTHIL VEL, EXPERT MEMBER HON’BLE DR. AFROZ AHMAD, EXPERT MEMBER Respondents: Mr. Deepak Bora & Mr. Sai Darshan Patra, Advs. for the State of Uttarakhand with Dr. Parag Madhukar Dhakate, Member Secretary, UKPCB Mr. Kaushal Gautam & Ms. Vanshik Singh, Advs. for UKPCB

ORDER

Per Dr. A. Senthil Vel, Expert Member

1. These Proceedings were initiated suo motu in view of the captioned media report in respect of the Joshimath disaster, which had led to the displacement of a number of inhabitants and damage to properties. There was reported sinking of the Earth’s surface due to the displacement of sub-surface material. This was on account of excessive unplanned constructions beyond the carrying capacity. This was also a warning for Mussoorie, where unplanned constructions have taken place and are still taking place. Its carrying capacity was studied by the Lal Bahadur