HC Directs Darjeeling Municipality to Halt Illegal Constructions

Amitava Banerjee, MP. 24 Jan 2026, Darjeeling :  The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday issued an interim order directing the Darjeeling Municipality to ensure that no illegal construction occurs within its limits until the next date of hearing. The order follows a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by environmental journalist Chandrani Sinha in November 2025, which highlighted ecological risks posed by unchecked high-rise buildings, hill cutting, and violations of building regulations in this seismic-zone-VI, landslide-prone region.

The PIL stated that authorities, including the Central and state governments, the municipality, and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), have repeatedly failed to curb unauthorized constructions, compromising public safety, environmental protection, and lawful governance in the hills and flood-prone areas of North Bengal.

After hearing arguments on January 21, the bench comprising Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen directed that the municipality “shall ensure that till the next date of hearing no illegal construction is permitted in Darjeeling Municipality area.” The court also allowed petitioners to file their affidavit-in-reply within two weeks, with the case to be listed again after completion of pleadings.

The petitioner’s counsel, Sabyasachi Chatterjee, warned that continued construction in violation of regulations could exacerbate disaster vulnerability in the hills. “If we lose the hills today, tomorrow the entire North Bengal will face the consequences. What we leave behind for future generations matters,” he said.

The PIL referenced historical calamities in Darjeeling, including landslides and flash floods in 1968, 1975, 1980, 1991, 2015, and 2024–25, which collectively caused hundreds of deaths and displaced thousands. Cyclone Aila in 2009 and the late monsoon rains of October 2025 were cited as examples of the region’s vulnerability to extreme weather events.

The litigation followed an unsatisfactory response to an RTI request seeking a list of buildings violating municipal norms, which prompted Sinha to approach the High Court.

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post