Chandigarh, Dec 23: A citizens’ collective has approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the Punjab government’s newly notified “Policy for Approval/Regularisation of Low Impact Green Habitats (LIGH), 2025,” alleging it would allow construction and legalisation of illegal structures in the ecologically fragile Shivalik-Kandi belt.
Taking up the matter, a Bench headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu fixed the case for further hearing in January on the question of maintainability.
At the outset, the Bench was informed that a similar issue was pending before the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Expressing reluctance to entertain parallel proceedings, the court noted its disinclination to proceed at this stage.
Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate R.S. Bains argued that the NGT lacked jurisdiction to examine the legality or constitutional validity of a government policy. “The relief before the tribunal is entirely different. It cannot strike down a policy as unconstitutional,” he submitted.
The writ petition was filed by the Public Action Committee, a group comprising environmental experts, residents and social stakeholders, through advocate Shehbaz Thind. The petition seeks quashing of the Nov. 20 notification issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Placing the issue in a broader environmental context, the petition said the policy applies exclusively to districts in the Shivalik-Kandi region, described as Punjab’s last contiguous forest-bearing landscape and a critical ecological shield.
The petition contended that the forests in the region play a key role in groundwater recharge, slope stabilisation, regulation of surface runoff and air quality, warning that any reduction in forest cover would increase risks of erosion, flooding and water stress across the state.
Challenging specific provisions of the policy, the petition objected to permissions for G+1 construction, paved access roads, hard surfacing and regularisation of illegal structures in areas governed by the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900, or conditionally de-notified under it.
The petition also alleged the policy violates Supreme Court directions and guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, which require even de-listed PLPA land to be treated as forest under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
Terming the notification arbitrary and unconstitutional, the petition sought an interim stay on LIGH approvals and a comprehensive scientific review of the Shivalik-Kandi belt before permitting any construction.
