The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) is planning to undertake a detailed geological assessment of the hills surrounding the Bhakra dam due to increasing incidents of landslides during the monsoon season. BBMB management is onboarding the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to conduct a comprehensive study of the slopes and hill formations around the dam to avoid future risks, especially after the 2025 monsoon season when heavy rainfall triggered multiple slope failures, leading to the blockage of both road and railway tracks connecting Nangal to the dam site. Meanwhile, Punjab and Haryana High Court (PHHC) rejected an affidavit filed by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority on unauthorized constructions in forest and periphery control areas and imposed interim costs of USD 275 to be deposited in the Poor Patients Welfare Fund of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh. The matter relates to alleged illegal commercial and other constructions in and around Siswan forest area in the Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar district. Additionally, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has banned mining in all 85 sites spread across Panjab after an application was moved by the Gahlri village panchayat (village council) in Gurdaspur district. The Council pleaded that since dredging and desilting work were meant for commercial purposes, mandatory environmental clearances were required and ‘lands of the villagers would be adversely affected’ given the village was located downstream. Floods had devastated large tracts of land in Panjab in August and September 2025 and illegal mining had played a major role in the devastation caused. However in Amritsar district, Dera Beas Management is allegedly obstructing the flow of Beas river by dumping sand and reclaiming some portions of the riverbed on the road leading to the dera (sect). Despite flagging the issue to the state government multiple times, no action has been taken yet. Additionally, environment organization Public Action Committee announced the launch of Shivalik Morcha (front), a public campaign to safeguard the Shivalik hills, recognized as Panjab's most sensitive and erosion-prone ecological belt which acts as a natural barrier against soil erosion and a critical groundwater recharge zone for state's plains (earlier coverage).
Get the Liv Forum digest emailed to you weekly.
In accordance with our Privacy Policy, we will never share or sell the information of our subscribers.
