Overview
- The High Court directed the Uttarakhand government to file a reply within three weeks to an urgency plea in a 2021 PIL over illegal building in the Dehradun–Mussoorie foothills.
- Petitioner Reenu Paul says construction surged while the case waited for listing, with rules on fragile hill zones left unenforced.
- The plea points to Part 4.4 of the 2015 state bylaws, which bars building on slopes steeper than 30 degrees or in zones with high landslide intensity.
- It alleges the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority and the Mussoorie municipal council still approve projects on steep foothill slopes despite a 2019 order marking nine areas as ecologically sensitive.
- The filing cites the BIS 2025 seismic map placing Uttarakhand in the highest risk Zone 6 and the Dehradun Master Plan 2024 mapping of fault lines, warning that unchecked works raise landslide and earthquake risks for residents and visitors.