THE Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has recommended a slew of measures — short-term and long-term — to protect the environment and ecology of Himachal Pradesh. The measures include assessing the carrying capacity of major tourist destinations, completing pending compensatory afforestation works, considering mandatory environmental clearance for construction or expansion of hill roads with two or more lanes, and railway lines.The recommendations were made in a report following examination of the thematic areas of hydroelectric projects, compensatory afforestation, roads and tourism and multi-storey buildings, on the directions of the Supreme Court. The CEC advises the court on writ petitions related to environment and forest matters, and assists in monitoring and compliance with its orders.The committee said in its considered opinion, the rapid expansion of tourism-related construction in Himachal Pradesh requires a shift from a “permission-based approach to a coordinated system of scientific, carrying capacity assessment, risk-sensitive planning, inter-departmental regulation and continuing compliance monitoring”.It said the state government should implement the measures recommended in a time-bound manner. The CEC report also submitted a range of observations and findings on these four thematic areas, such as a 10% shortfall in the compensatory afforestation for forest land diverted since 1980-81, landslides due to engineering failures, and near-vertical excavation on slopes.The SC had taken suo motu cognizance of serious ecological and environmental concerns prevailing in Himachal Pradesh in July 2025 in the context of developmental pressures, widespread landslides and the fragile Himalayan ecosystem. Later in July 2026, it directed the CEC to “undertake a comprehensive examination of nine identified thematic issues” and submit reports. On Tuesday, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Aparesh Kumar Singh took up the matter and granted the Himachal Pradesh government time to file its response to the CEC’s recommendations.The CEC was directed to examine nine thematic areas. In the first phase, it examined four thematic areas. The SC panel’s examination involved independent assessment of the information furnished by the state government, including site visits and evaluation of existing regulatory measures, as per the report.Some of the most crucial findings and recommendations in CEC report pertained to road expansions and tourism in the hill state. During site visits, the panel found repeated damage to national highways. It noted that the NHAI approved Rs 825 crore for restoration and stabilisation on the Kiratpur-Manali corridor, after geological investigations identified 44 critical landslide and erosion-prone locations. It further noted that for forest diversion, proposals were submitted piecemeal rather than as a single holistic linear project.Story continues below this adAmong its recommendations, it said the Environment Ministry shall review the exemptions from environmental clearance in place for certain NH expansion projects.After assessing data on the rapid increase in registered hotels and homestays, and tourist arrivals, the CEC recommended that there should be an immediate assessment of the carrying capacity of major tourist destinations and allied infrastructure such as roads, parking, waste management, and ecological sensitivity. The CEC flagged that rapid expansion is taking place without a published, permission-binding carrying-capacity limit, raising concerns about compliance with the operational requirements of the Tourism Policy, 2019, and the need to align accommodation development with the ecological carrying capacity of individual destinations.Pending assessment, it sought temporary restrictions wherever serious congestion or environmental stress exists. It also sought a review of tourism-linked construction and resort development along the road connecting the Shimla highway with Kasauli, as it observed extensive hill cutting and alteration of the natural terrain.The panel recommended immediate withdrawal of all Requests for Proposal for selection of operator for ecotourism activities on forest land. It asked to keep in abeyance concession agreements already granted and recommended referring the matter to the Union Environment Ministry for detailed examination.