Overview

• A bench led by Chief Justice BR Gavai with Justice K Vinod Chandran sent notices to the Environment and Jal Shakti ministries, NDMA, NHAI, and the governments of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir.
• The court said logs seen in floodwaters suggest prima facie illegal felling in the hills and warned that continued degradation could leave the region without forests.
• Hearing a public interest case by environmentalist Anamika Rana, the court took note of reports of nearly 300 people stranded in tunnels between Chandigarh and Manali during the floods.
• Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said he will confer with the Environment Ministry secretary and state chief secretaries, acknowledging unchecked interference with nature.
• The proceedings come after severe monsoon events that reportedly killed about 500 people across northern states, with the matter listed for the next hearing in two weeks.