The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Uttarakhand government regarding the forest fires in the state, attributing the increasing incidents of fire to the government's apathetic policy. A fire control plan was devised but remains unimplemented, prompting the Court to question the government's inaction. A Public Interest Litigation was brought forth in the Supreme Court, accusing the state government of neglecting forest fire prevention efforts in Uttarakhand.
The Court, led by Justice BR Gavai, scrutinized the government's policies and summoned the state's chief secretary to appear in court on May 17. During the hearing, petitioners highlighted that 40% of Uttarakhand's forests had been ravaged by fire, emphasizing that forest department employees were engaged in election duties instead of fire prevention activities.
The Court questioned the government's rationale behind assigning employees to election tasks amid fire outbreaks and criticized the failure to implement the fire suppression plan promptly, attributing the recurring fires to the state government's indifferent stance. The Court scheduled the next hearing on May 17, instructing the Chief Secretary to be present.
