NGT notice on plea challenging Punjab’s farm stay policy

Bathinda: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices to the Punjab govt and other respondents on a petition challenging the legality and environmental impact of the state's Farm Stay Policy-2026 notified on May 6.The petition, filed by the Council of Engineers, alleged that the policy permits permanent tourism and hospitality infrastructure in ecologically sensitive areas governed under the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), including notified and de-listed forest-linked lands. The NGT order was uploaded on May 21.The petitioners challenged provisions allowing permanent ground-plus-one structures, tourism units and related infrastructure on agricultural land measuring one acre or more. They argued that the policy permits commercial activity even on de-listed and notified PLPA lands despite restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court and the Union environment ministry.Council of Engineers president Kapil Arora and vice-president Mohit Jain said the Supreme Court, while permitting de-listing of cultivated and habitation areas from forest records, had clearly barred commercial activity on such lands and restricted their use to agriculture and livelihood purposes.The petition also cited communications issued by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, which prohibit permanent private construction on forest land except for limited public utility purposes.According to the plea, the policy promotes commercialisation of ecologically fragile Shivalik areas by allowing nearly 8,500 sq ft permanent structures with up to nine rooms and 18 tourist beds without carrying-capacity studies, biodiversity assessments, wildlife corridor mapping or environmental impact assessments.The petitioners further alleged that the policy was an attempt to bypass environmental safeguards and judicial restrictions imposed on the earlier Low Impact Green Habitats (LIGH) Policy, 2025.The matter will next be heard on July 21.