Supreme Court pulls up Haryana Chief Secretary for failing to act against illegal road construction through forest

The Supreme Court recently pulled up the Haryana Chief Secretary over his failure to act against officials responsible for cutting down trees in a forest to build a road in collusion with the mining mafia [TN Godavarman Thirumulpad v Union of India & Ors]..A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih noted that the State's top bureaucrat failed to probe the illegal activities and instead, tried to blame the officers of other departments. The Court ordered the bureaucrat to take immediate action against the erring officials and warned that if the government is found to be lacking in seriousness, steps will be taken against the Chief Secretary. "We, therefore, direct the Chief Secretary to take immediate action against all the erring officers and file a detailed affidavit in this Court on or before 15th July 2025. We clarify that if we find that the State Government is not paying due attention to the issue involved, we will be constrained to take steps as are permissible in law against the Chief Secretary as well as other erring officers," the Court said. .The Bench was dealing with a plea flagging road construction allegedly carried out in collusion with the sarpanch of a Haryana village, officers of the revenue department and the police.According to the allegation, the road runs from Haryana to Rajasthan and has been constructed to facilitate illegal mining activities undertaken by the mafia. In March 2025, the apex court had asked the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to investigate the matter. However, the CEC later informed the Court that none of the government officials appeared before it despite notices. The Chief Secretary also filed an affidavit in the Court. .When the Bench examined the top bureaucrat's reply, it noted that he was trying to pass the buck to other officers and juniors in his office. The Court noted that there was no explanation as to why no officer appeared before the CEC. “The Chief Secretary in the affidavit blames it on the staff of his office and states that the notice was never presented before him. Furthermore, the affidavit does not state as to what action the Chief Secretary has taken against such an officer/official," the Court said. It also rejected the Chief Secretary’s effort to deflect blame to the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO). “Rather than finding out when the illegal activities were carried out, the Chief Secretary attempted to put the blame on the officers of the other departments," the Bench said.It stressed that environmental oversight cannot be departmentalised and reminded the Chief Secretary that he is the head of the State bureaucracy and cannot shift the blame..[Read Order]