Dehradun, April 2 -- The Uttarakhand high court on Wednesday directed authorities to stop felling trees in the Hussain Gunj area of Mussoorie unless valid permission is obtained from the competent authority. The bench passed the order while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Pravesh Singh Rana alleging illegal cutting of trees during road widening work. The bench of chief justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and justice Subhash Upadhyay heard the matter. Abhijay Negi, counsel for the petitioner, said the Nagar Palika Parishad Mussoorie allegedly undertook road widening work in Hussain Gunj area, described as a notified forest zone, and felled several oak and other trees without mandatory permission from the forest department. During the hearing, the state counsel placed on record instructions from the divisional forest officer of the Mussoorie forest division. These stated that an inspection by the forest range officer on March 13 found illegal felling of four banj (oak) trees and three syaaru trees without legitimate approval. Negi said the forest department informed the court that those responsible had been challaned, cases were pending and further investigation was underway. Negi added that counsel for the Mussoorie municipal body told the court the work had been stopped pending the inquiry. The court directed the respondents to file counter affidavits within three weeks and listed the matter for further hearing in the week commencing April 27. Meanwhile, the bench ordered that no trees be felled in the area without valid permission from the competent authority. "Let counter affidavit be filed by the respondents within three weeks. List in the week commencing 27.04.2026. Meanwhile, there shall be no felling of trees without obtaining valid permission from the competent Authority," the court said. Negi said the court had directed the Mussoorie Municipal Council, the state government and the forest department to submit their responses within three weeks. The PIL, filed by Pravesh Singh Rana, president of the MPG College students' union and an environmental activist, alleges the municipal council issued tenders to construct a sports ground and a motorable road on land designated for the college hostel and subsequently felled several oak trees without mandatory permission from the forest department. The petition further stated that Mussoorie has several private estates containing valuable trees, including oak, and educational institutions have traditionally maintained these estates and planted new trees. The petitioner also submitted photographs of the felled trees. The municipal council objected, claiming the photographs did not depict the actual site. However, the forest department informed the photographs corresponded to the location in question. The state government also confirmed no permission had been obtained for the activity....