HC seeks response from Centre on deactivating Doon Valley notification, hearing on Abhinav Thapar’s petition

The Nainital High Court has taken a tough stand on the PIL filed by Congress spokesperson and social activist Abhinav Thapar against the central government’s decision to deactivate the Doon Valley Notification 1989. A division bench of Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Alok Mahara has issued a notice to the central and state governments and sought a reply.

Response sought from the Center on deactivating the Doon Valley Notification
The petition states that in 1989, after the instructions of the Supreme Court, a notification was issued to ban mining and heavy industries in the environmentally sensitive Doon Valley region. But on May 13, 2025, the Central Government issued a government order to deactivate it, due to which the environment of the entire Doon Valley region including Mussoorie, Rishikesh, Sahaspur, Doiwala, Vikasnagar is in danger.

The government has worked against the direction of NCAP – Petitioner: Thapar
According to the petitioner, the state government has worked against the direction of NCAP, while under this scheme, cities like Dehradun and Rishikesh were given crores of rupees for pollution control. Thapar claimed that the Prime Minister’s Office was also given letters twice against this decision, but the central government finally deactivated the notification.

Next hearing will be on June 27
The petition states that Doon Valley is already a seismically sensitive area and starting slaughter houses, crushers and red category industrial activities here would be disastrous. Advocate Abhijay Negi said that the court has asked the central government to take any decision only in compliance with the Supreme Court’s 1988 orders. The court has directed the petitioner to submit all the facts to the Ministry of Environment and inform about the effects of the government order of May 13. The next hearing of the case will be on June 27.