The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the construction of a road in the reserve forest area of the Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand.
A vacation bench comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Surya Kant also issued notice to the state government on a plea by an NGO.
The NGO, who is working for the betterment of the environment, submitted that the authorities did not take proper legal sanction for the construction of the Laldhang-Chillarkhal road. On May 3, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had directed the Ministry of Environment and Forests, National Board for Wildlife and National Tiger Conservation Authority to provide a report by August 31 on the alleged illegal road construction in a part of the tiger reserve.
Spread over an area of 820 sq. km, the park, in addition to tigers, is home to elephants, leopards, jackals, hyenas, jungle cats, bears, deers and a variety of other animals and birds.