The CBI has submitted six indictments about the alleged illicit acquisition of forest and agricultural land by hotels and guesthouses in collusion with former CEOs of the Patnitop Development Authority (PDA) in the Jammu region. The successive CEOs of the PDA refrained from implementing any remedial measures or reporting the issue to the appropriate authorities for further investigation. Only after a PIL was submitted did the HC mandate a CBI inquiry. The conduct of the PDA and other affiliated departments in this matter has deviated from the established legal norms and protocols. This PIL alleged that 70 percent of hotels got constructed without the requisite legal permissions-a grave accusation by any standard. The FIR clearly states that many hotels and guesthouses were constructed without requisite registrations and permissions from PDA. The officials took no action despite being aware of such encroachments, and in some cases, no compounding fees were allegedly paid by the hotels.
This whole Patnitop ecological imbalance and subsequent ban have roots traced back to a Civil Writ Petition titled T N Godavarman Thirumulpad vs. Union of India filed in 1995 to address the issue of timber felling in the Nilgiri range of Tamil Nadu. However, over time, its purview significantly broadened. The SC extended its authority to safeguard ecologically vital regions within the other states as well. It prohibited any further construction and land conversion in Patnitop until the restoration of ecological equilibrium. The SC mandated the submission of a status report within four months. This was supposed to serve as a conspicuous example of regulatory action in which the SC had endeavoured to compel the State Government to take forceful measures to re-establish ecological equilibrium, particularly in ecologically significant areas. It is a matter of profound disquiet that, despite unambiguous directives from the SC, no heed was paid in the case of these hotels and construction was permitted with a deliberate disregard for flagrant violations. While, due to SC orders, no Government infrastructure took shape in the form of hotels, restaurants, amusement parks, or ropeways, these private hotels brazenly encroached upon forest land and expanded their establishments, all the while the CEO of the PDA and other officials turned a blind eye. The extent of damage inflicted by these encroachments on the ecology and environment warrants a thorough investigation.
A perplexing aspect is that despite the SC order stipulating the submission of a status report within four months and a ban on construction until ecological equilibrium is restored, decades have passed, but successive administrations have failed to deliver the report. The optimal course of action would have been for the Government to present a comprehensive report in the SC outlining the measures taken to augment forest cover within Patnitop’s designated area and confirming the restoration of ecological balance, thereby paving the way for lifting the ban. Regrettably, this never materialised, resulting in Patnitop, a prime tourist attraction in the Jammu region, remaining bereft of significant tourist infrastructure. This represents a substantial setback to Jammu’s tourism prospects. Despite being the closest hill station to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, which draws nearly one crore visitors, Patnitop failed to evolve into a major alternative tourist destination due to a lack of infrastructure and amenities. Jammu earnestly requires Patnitop to be developed.
With the CBI filing charge sheets, all individuals who actively or indirectly facilitated these encroachments must be held accountable before the courts of law. Negligence of duty on the part of Government officials is a grave matter that necessitates stringent action. Concurrently, the Government must establish a committee to compile a status report within a stipulated timeframe, present it to the SC, and seek the lifting of the blanket ban. Let Patnitop flourish as a tourist destination akin to other destinations across the country.
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