In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the National Green Tribunal's judgment ordering demolition of an illegally constructed Hotel-cum-Restaurant structure within a Bus Stand Complex in McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh. Although the Ministry of Environment and Forests had permitted diversion of forest land for a parking space and bus stand, no permission was granted for the hotel and commercial structure. Despite the Himachal Pradesh Bus Stand Authority's statutory powers, the Court held that the construction violated the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The Court emphasized the importance of the environmental rule of law and directed demolition within one month, permitting only the originally authorized parking and bus stand facilities to operate thereafter.
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