India, June 18 -- The longstanding horse transport system in Matheran has landed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), with horse owners' associations challenging an environmental report that found horse-related activities at their current scale to be environmentally unsustainable in the hill station's eco-sensitive zone.

During a hearing before the NGT's western zone bench on June 9, horse owners' associations argued that the existing report could have far-reaching consequences for hundreds of families whose livelihoods depend on the horse-based economy. As such, they sought a fresh environmental assessment to be carried out by specialised environmental institutions such as the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (...