Dehradun, April 23 -- The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to file its response to an urgency application alleging that the fragile ecology of the foothills between Dehradun and Mussoorie is under serious threat due to unchecked illegal constructions. The matter was heard by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and justice Subhash Upadhyay. The urgency application was filed in a 2021 public interest litigation (WPPIL 57 of 2021) by Reenu Paul, a Dehradun resident and former faculty member at the National Law School of India University. Advocate Abhijay Negi, appearing for the petitioner, told the court that the stretch where the Dehradun plains meet the rising Mussoorie hills is a critical ecological and conservation zone. According to the plea, the state government had notified nine specific areas within these foothills as ecologically sensitive through a government order dated February 5, 2019. Negi submitted that despite existing regulations, rampant construction activity continues in the area. He said that although the state amended building bylaws in 2015 by introducing Clause 4.4 to regulate construction in fragile hill belts, implementation remains "virtually non-existent". The petition contends that the foothill region acts as a crucial ecological buffer and carbon sink for the Doon Valley. However, due to weak enforcement, the area has increasingly become a hotspot for unauthorised constructions. The petitioner has also placed recent evidence before the court to show that construction activity has intensified while the case remained pending. Negi further told the court that although replies and a rejoinder have already been filed, the matter had not been listed for nearly two years. "The urgency application details how the situation has gone from bad to worse in the foothill area during this period," he said. Taking note of the submissions, the High Court directed the state government to file its reply to the urgency application within three weeks. The original PIL alleges that under Part 4.4 of the amendments to the Uttarakhand Building Construction and Development Bylaws, 2011, no construction should be permitted in areas with high landslide risk or where the natural slope exceeds 30 degrees. However, the petition claims that despite these restrictions, unchecked construction continues in the ecologically sensitive stretch....