New Delhi, Sep 4: Considering the unprecedented landslides and flooding in states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the Supreme Court on Thursday sought the stand of the Centre, National Disaster Management Authority and others, and observed “illegal felling of trees led to the disasters”.

Observing a balance ought to be struck between “development and environment”, a bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran also issued notices to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI) as well as the governments of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.

“We have seen unprecedented landslides and floods in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. From the media reports it is noticed that in the flood a huge number of wood was flowing along. Prima facie it appears that there has been illegal felling of trees. Thus issue notice to respondents,” the CJI said.

The bench granted advocates Akash Vashishtha and Shubham Upadhyay, appearing for petitioner Anamika Rana, to serve the notice and the copy of the petition at the central agency.

The CJI during the hearing asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was present in the court in connection with another case, to take note of the grim situation and ensure remedial steps.

“Please take note of this. It appears to be a serious issue. A large number of wooden logs are seen to be falling around… it shows illegal felling of trees. We have seen pictures of Punjab. Entire fields and crops are inundated…Development has to be balanced with mitigating measures,” the CJI said.

“We have interfered with nature so much…that nature is giving back now. I will speak to the secretary of the environment ministry today itself and he will speak to the chief secretaries (of the states),” the law officer said.

Such situations cannot be permitted, Mehta added.

The petitioner’s counsel said there instances of people being trapped in tunnels and on the verge of “near death situations”.

The CJI said he noticed the seriousness of the issue and posted the matter after two weeks.

The plea, filed through lawyer Akash Vashishta, has sought framing of action plan and SIT inquiry into the reasons of landslides and flash floods besides the measures to ensure that such disasters do not recur.

“The Central and state governments, in spite of having dedicated Disaster Authorities, have no plan in place to prevent or mitigate the losses due to these disasters whose frequency has increased alarmingly of late,” it said.

It said the ministries of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and Jal Shakti have failed in their duty to protect the “pristine Ecology and the Rivers of the Himalayan region from degradation”.

“The Petition is being filed bona fide in the larger public interest to ensure and to uphold the Constitutional Right to Life (Article 21) and access to justice of the residents of these Himalayan States,” it said.

Seeking appropriate directions, the plea sought constituting an independent expert committee to carry out geological, geo-technical or environmental/ecological investigation into all road/highway projects where landslides have occurred and assess the causes of floods and flash floods in the rivers, rivulets, streams, water courses, channels in the Himalayan states, particularly Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand besides Jammu and Kashmir.

The plea also sought a direction to the Centre and others to ensure emergency relief, rescue, safety, first-aid for affected citizens. (Agencies)

New Delhi, Sep 3: Highlighting the devastating impact of the Pahalgam terror attack on the economy of Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday sought the Centre’s support to deal with the situation.

The Union Territory was facing a severe fiscal crisis as its public revenues had “collapsed” in the aftermath of the April 22 terror attack in which 26 people were killed, he said.

Abdullah, who also holds the finance portfolio, told the 56th GST Council meeting here, that major economic sectors including tourism, handicrafts, agriculture and horticulture had come to a standstill after the attack.

Proposed GST reforms could further reduce the UT’s revenue by 10 to 12 per cent, the Chief Minister said.

He was of the view that the GST Council could go ahead with rate rationalisation proposals, but suitable mechanisms should be devised to compensate states as well as UTs.

The Centre’s support to Jammu and Kashmir to deal with the fiscal crisis was critical, Abdullah emphasised.

“The major sectors of the economy, like tourism, transport, construction, and automobiles, have come to a standstill post April 2025. The proposed reform can further reduce our GST revenues by 10-12 per cent.

“Hence as the Finance Minister of J&K, I am of the opinion that establishing suitable mechanisms and safeguards for the fiscal stability of States and UTs is critical,” he said.

He highlighted the devastating impact of the event on the Union Territory’s (UT) economy and called for the Centre’s support to deal with the situation, particularly in view of the proposed GST rate rationalisation.

“We may go ahead with the rate rationalisation proposal, while devising a mechanism for compensating States/UTs for their fiscal stability and creating safeguards for translating the benefits from rationalization in the reduced prices to the masses of our country,” he said.

Abdullah stated that the GST reforms must consider the unique challenges faced by individual states and UTs.

He detailed how the local economy had been gaining renewed vigour before being “shocked” by the “Pahalgam incident” of April 2025. This event, and its aftermath, have brought major economic sectors—including tourism, handicraft, horticulture, and agriculture — to a standstill.

The chief minister also urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman-headed GST Council to address the “geopolitical challenges” facing the country and the severe fiscal pressures on his region following the terror attack.

He talked about substantial loss of jobs and businesses, and a decline in public revenues. “Today, all the sectors of economic activity, including tourism, handicraft, horticulture and agriculture are badly affected. The flight of non-local workers has slowed down development of infrastructure projects,” the chief minister said.

Fully endorsing the two-tier (5 and 18 per cent) GST structure proposal, the chief minister said, “My main concern is how do we ensure that this rate rationalisation eases the burden on the common man and makes these specific goods and services more affordable for the masses of our country.

“These often lead to classification disputes, inverted duty structures and compliance complexity. The recommendations of the Group of Ministers and the Union proposal deal with these distortions to a large extent and aim to minimise such aberrations. For the Trade and Industries, these will bring clarity, reduce litigation, and enhance compliance. Hence, I welcome and support the recommendations of the Group,” he said.

“We need to have systemic safeguards to assure us that the proposed rate changes result in major benefits for the consumers and are not cornered in the chain. There should not be any scope for profiteering from this rate rationalisation,” Abdullah said.

The chief minister also touched upon national economic issues, noting that the country’s growth path is “suddenly challenged by geopolitical challenges” and also pointed to “whimsical trade policies of the colonial era” that he said could restrict India’s access to 20 per cent of the global market, affecting thousands of workers in sectors like agriculture, handicraft, and gems and jewellery.

Asserting that the GST, introduced in July 2017, remains the most ambitious federal tax reform in India’s fiscal history, he said that through these eight years, several steps and initiatives have been taken in tax structure, administrative mechanism, and technology frontier to improve efficiency and revenue mobilisation from GST as also to facilitate honest taxpayers and dealers.

“The past year has been nothing but challenging for Jammu and Kashmir and for the entire nation. At the national level, we see our growth path suddenly challenged by geopolitical challenges.

“Our economy is steadily accelerating at 6–7 per cent growth rate. We have increased our export competitiveness and raised our share in global markets in goods and in services.

“Our forex reserves had quadrupled to USD 660 billion in the past two decades. But today we seek our market access being severely constrained by whimsical trade policies of the colonial era,” he said.

The chief minister said these policies will deprive us of about 20 per cent of the global market and will seriously affect thousands of workers and entrepreneurs in the agriculture, handicraft, marine products, gems and jewellery sectors.

JAMMU, Sep 4: Kashmir Valley was cut off from the rest of the country as all surface links, including the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, were closed for traffic on Thursday due to multiple landslides and the washing away of road patches due to rains.

The closure of highways and other inter-regional roads since August 26 has resulted in over 3,500 vehicles getting stuck at various places from Kathua to Kashmir. The highway was partially reopened on Monday for facilitating the movement of some stranded vehicles.

“The Jammu-Srinagar highway, Mughal Road and Sinthan Road are closed for vehicular movement due to landslides, mudslides, and shooting stones at several places,” a traffic police officer said.

Besides this, important highways, including the Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch highway and the Batote-Doda-Kishtwar highway, are shut for traffic in view of landslides and the washing away of portions of roads.

With the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar highway, Mughal Road, Sinthan-Anantnag Road, Jammu-Poonch highway and Batote-Doda-Kishtwar highway, all surface connectivity to Kashmir Valley has been cut off, officials said.

“Jammu-Srinagar is closed for vehicular movement from Jakhani in Udhampur towards Srinagar and vice versa due to the road being damaged at multiple places. No vehicular movement shall be allowed from Nagrota (Jammu) towards Reasi, Chenani, Patnitop, Doda, Ramban, Banihal, Srinagar and vice versa,” the traffic police advisory said.

It said commuters belonging to Katra and Udhampur town are requested to keep their photo ID cards to prove their identification so that their movement can be facilitated smoothly.

Restoration work is underway at affected places in the Udhampur-Ramban-Banihal section on a war footing, they said.

The most affected areas include Shalgadi, Nachilana, Panthyal, Maroog and Peerah in Ramban–Banihal, where retaining walls and stretches of road have been washed away, and a heavy landslide has even entered one tube of the Peerah tunnel.

In the Udhampur sector, around 10 km of road between Jakhani, Thara D, Balli Nallah and Dewal has been affected, they said.

Over 3,500 vehicles are stranded at various places in Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Udhampur, Ramban and Kashmir Valley due to the closure of the highway, they said.

The Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch National Highway has remained closed since Wednesday night at Chowki Choura near the Kandi tunnel, they said. Over 400 vehicles are stranded due to the damaged road surface, they added.

Efforts are on to restore the highway to reconnect Rajouri and Poonch besides facilitating the movement of essential services, they said.

The Batote-Doda-Kishtwar highway is also closed following landslides in the Pul Doda area, resulting in the stranding of several vehicles, they said. Over 200 vehicles are stranded at various places.

Similarly, the Kishtwar-Sinthan-Anantnag highway is closed for vehicular movement, they said, adding that Mughal Road has also been shut.

Kashmir’s connectivity with the rest of the country currently relies solely on air travel, with flights operating from Srinagar airport, and the railway network that extends from Katra to Srinagar. The region depends on road transport, particularly the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, which serves as the main lifeline for essential supplies, passenger movement, and trade.

Besides this, several inter-district roads in Kathua, Rajouri, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban and Reasi remain shut due to landslides and falling boulders, they said.