India, Sept. 4 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed alarm that rampant illegal tree felling appeared to be taking place across the fragile Himalayan belt, as it referred to videos of timber logs floating in the floodwaters of Himachal Pradesh.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran, underscored the gravity of the issue against the backdrop of widespread devastation in the northern states caused by incessant rains, flash floods and cloudbursts.

"We have seen unprecedented landslides and floods in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. From the media reports, it is also noticed that in the flood, a huge number of wooden logs were floating around. Prima facie, ...