In a significant interim intervention aimed at safeguarding the fragile ecology of the eastern Himalayas, the Calcutta High Court has directed the Darjeeling Municipality to ensure that no illegal construction takes place within municipal limits until the next date of hearing.
The order was passed on Tuesday while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by environmental journalist Chandrani Sinha, which raises alarm over unchecked urban construction, hill cutting and alleged violations of building regulations in the hill town.
The PIL, filed in November 2025, draws attention to what the petitioners describe as rampant and unregulated construction activity in Darjeeling, a region classified under high seismic risk and prone to landslides.
According to the petition, the proliferation of high-rise buildings, often constructed by cutting into hill slopes, has taken place in alleged violation of existing building rules and without adequate environmental safeguards.
The petitioner contended that repeated representations to local civic authorities had failed to stem the growth of such structures, thereby increasing the town’s vulnerability to natural disasters.
The matter was heard by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen.
Recording submissions made by counsel for both sides, the court granted the Darjeeling Municipality four weeks’ time to file its affidavit-in-opposition. At the same time, the bench accepted the petitioners’ plea for immediate interim relief to prevent further damage pending adjudication.
In its operative directions, the court made it explicit that the onus lies squarely on the civic body. “Subject to hearing the other side, as an interim measure, it is directed that it shall be duty of Municipality to ensure that till next date of hearing no illegal construction is permitted in Darjeeling Municipality area,” the bench ordered.
The petitioners have been granted two weeks thereafter to file their affidavit-in-reply, following which the matter will be listed again.
Advocate-on-record Rishabh Ahmed Khan, appearing for the petitioners, welcomed the clarity of the interim order. Speaking after the hearing, he said the court had categorically placed responsibility on the Municipality to enforce building laws during the pendency of the case. “The court has clearly directed that it shall be the duty of the Municipality to ensure that till the next date of hearing no illegal construction is permitted within the Darjeeling Municipal area,” he said, adding that this direction was crucial to prevent irreversible ecological damage in the interim.
Senior advocate Sabyasachi Chatterjee, who preceded Khan for the petitioners, underlined the larger public interest dimension of the case.
He noted that the Chief Minister of West Bengal had been impleaded as a party because the Hill Affairs Department and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration function under her supervision.
According to Chatterjee, governance and regulatory oversight in the hills cannot be delinked from environmental protection. “If we lose the hills today, tomorrow the entire North Bengal will face the consequences. What we leave behind for future generations matters,” he said, emphasising that Darjeeling’s environmental degradation has implications far beyond municipal boundaries.
The PIL also situates the issue within the broader context of disaster preparedness. Darjeeling lies in a high seismic zone and has a long history of landslides triggered by heavy rainfall and slope instability.
The petition argues that unplanned construction, particularly vertical expansion without regard to slope stability or carrying capacity, significantly heightens the risk to life and property. The absence of strict enforcement, it contends, has normalised violations that could prove catastrophic during an earthquake or extreme weather event.
While the court has not yet gone into the merits of the allegations, legal observers say the interim order sends a strong signal about judicial concern over environmental governance in hill towns. By directing a complete halt to illegal construction until further orders, the bench has effectively frozen any ongoing or proposed activity that does not conform to law, pending scrutiny.
The Darjeeling Municipality, which sought time to place its version on record, is now under a clear judicial mandate to act as a regulator rather than a passive bystander. The order also leaves the door open for other respondents to file their affidavits, indicating that the court intends to hear all stakeholders before taking a final view.
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