SC had began its journey as a protector of environment in a petition filed by retired forest officer T N Godavarman Thirumalpad in 1995 seeking protection of the Nilgiri forests from illegal felling of trees, and in the span of three decades, it has protected northeastern forests, Kashmir Khair trees, Aravalli hills, Western Ghats, Saranda forest, sanctuaries and stopped illegal stone quarries and mining. On Monday, the case related to the protection of Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh triggered the rethink on the part of SC. A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi castigated the Haryana and Punjab govts for being in collusion with real estate agents to allow rapid urbanisation around the water body to throttle its catchment area. However, it said Punjab and Haryana HC, which is

See Full Page