The Supreme Court’s stark warning that Himachal Pradesh could “vanish from the map of the country” if ecological degradation continues unchecked is an extremely prudent cry for environmental sanity. The Court’s suo motu intervention in Himachal’s land-use and environmental crisis reflects a grim reality that resonates far beyond one state’s borders. For Jammu & Kashmir, which shares similar fragile Himalayan geographies and development pressures, this should serve as a wake-up call.
The Court’s indictment of unregulated construction, deforestation, reckless road-widening, and ill-conceived hydropower projects mirrors the growing threats to J&K’s own environment. With the rapid expansion of infrastructure in ecologically sensitive zones across J&K and mounting pressure from mass tourism, the parallels are too close for comfort. The erosion of natural slopes, frequent landslides, drying springs, vanishing glaciers and deteriorating river systems are now daily realities in Kashmir and other hill districts.
Perhaps most striking is the Court’s blunt assertion that humans, not nature, are responsible for the Himalayan region’s ecological collapse. This directly challenges the long-standing tendency of state institutions to frame floods, avalanches, and weather extremes as ‘natural disasters’ rather than symptoms of cumulative policy failure.
The Court’s emphasis on long-term sustainability over short-term revenue is a powerful rebuke to development paradigms that ignore carrying capacity and ecological fragility. In J&K too, we see policies prioritising tourist footfalls, real estate expansion, and large dams, often at the cost of forests, wetlands and biodiversity.
Jammu & Kashmir does not yet face the full-blown crisis that triggered the Himachal litigation, but the signs are unmistakable. The recent floods, cloudbursts and forest fires are warnings we cannot afford to ignore.
The Supreme Court has opened a door for serious national dialogue on Himalayan sustainability. J&K must walk through that door with bold, science-based planning, enforceable regulations and an sharp focus on environmental justice. Ignoring this moment would be wilful negligence. The hills are not just scenic they are our lifelines. And they are in peril.
