New Delhi, Oct. 30 -- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has observed that reports of large-scale landslides and environmental degradation in Darjeeling due to unsustainable development and climate change raise serious issues of environmental compliance and governance, warranting judicial intervention.

Taking suo motu cognisance of a news report, the bench of Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Expert Member A Senthil Vel said the matter reflects possible violations of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and the EIA Notification, 2006.

The court noted that the Darjeeling hills have witnessed repeated natural disasters over the decades, aggravated by climate change, unregulated developmental ...