DC report reveals green violations by religious body in Kangra

Kullu: The Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), a spiritual organisation headquartered in Amritsar, Punjab, has committed various environmental violations, including illegal tree felling and muck dumping at its centre in Paraur village of Kangra district, a report by Kangra deputy commissioner Hemraj Bairwa revealed. According to a report recently submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) by Bairwa, an inquiry by the forest department brought to light unauthorised felling of 35 trees on private land by the RSSB.The report stated that the forest department imposed a penalty of Rs 5,000 against the violators for illegally cutting 35 trees, and Rs 2,000 for felling 10 more trees in the Balla village area. No illegal tree felling was detected by the authorities on the forest land bordering the RSSB land, which is spread across 5 villages of the district, the report stated. The report also confirmed allegations of illegal muck dumping on the bank of seasonal rivulets.
"The allegations of unscientific muck dumping were examined by various departments, and the Jal Shakti Vibhag reported that earth filling on the left bank of Taal khad posed risks, including water flow obstruction, pollution, and potential harm to aquatic life," the report stated. The Jal Vibhag also reported that a water supply scheme that provided drinking water to around 9000 inhabitants of 42 villages was damaged due to earth fill, and the department incurred an expenditure of around Rs 10 lakh to lay a new pipeline. While muck dumping and road formation using hume pipes were observed, no conclusive diversion of the khad's natural flow was ascertained during inspection, the deputy commissioner added in his report.The report mentioned that the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, in Oct last year, directed the RSSB to stop muck dumping and later imposed a penalty of Rs 1 lakh for carrying out muck disposal without any protective measures. According to the report, the joint committee observed during its inspection that a local footpath was also temporarily blocked due to development activity by the RSSB, forcing villagers to use an alternate route.The Palampur SDM was directed to demarcate the path as per the revenue records, and the RSSB agreed to restore the footpath in accordance with the demarcation, the deputy commissioner added in the report. It may be mentioned that, acting on a petition filed in Oct last year by Seema Kumari, the Pradhan of Ghaneta panchayat, and residents of Dhoran, Balla, Paraur, and Darang villages of Kangra district, the Tribunal ordered the formation of a joint committee to investigate allegations of environmental vandalism, illegal land acquisition, and encroachments by the RSSB. In the petition, the residents accused the Paraur-based centre of the RSSB near Palampur in Kangra district of illegally expanding its infrastructure after acquiring local land through various means, and engaging in massive construction activities on agricultural and forest land in violation of the state Land Revenue Act and the Town and Country Planning Act.‘No evidence of encroachment'The Kangra deputy commissioner gave a clean chit to the RSSB, which is accused of illegal land acquisition and encroachments. The Deputy Commissioner stated in his report that an investigation by a joint committee found no evidence of encroachment by the RSSB. The RSSB holds approximately 5,29,632 square metres of land spread across 5 villages of Paraur, Dhoran, Balla, Ghaneta, and Darang villages of Kangra district, and the members of a joint committee, appointed by the NGT, conducted a joint inspection of the site on November 4, 2025."The land registrations were carried out in accordance with law and no complaint regarding coercion or illegal acquisition was ever brought to the notice of the Revenue Department," the deputy commissioner stated in his report. According to the DC, a "fresh demarcation" of the land was conducted by Revenue officials on November 25, 2025, which confirmed that no encroachment was made by the RSSB. MSID: 128913641 413 |