Shimla, Aug. 14 -- The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Principal Bench, New Delhi, has sought a detailed explanation from the Himachal Pradesh forest department regarding the construction of a protective platform around an approximately 200-year-old banyan tree located in a protected forest area in Kangra district.

A former panchayat village head of Sidhpghad village in Kangra district, Paramjit Mankotia (53), approached the NGT in 2025, raising a grievance regarding the alleged unauthorised construction of a platform around a 200-year-old banyan tree situated in a protected forest area of the village, contending that the requisite permission had not been obtained.

Mankotia had alleged that excavation began for construction near the scho...