Real estate boom pushes hills to the edge in Mussoorie

The high court directed the state government to respond to an application flagging a serious threat to the ecology of the foothills due to unchecked illegal construction.

The Uttarakhand high court halted the felling of trees in Mussoorie’s Hussain Gunj forest till valid permission was obtained from the forest department, in response to a PIL alleging illegal tree-cutting during road widening.

A new expressway to Mussoorie was inaugurated earlier in April 2026, bringing the town to about three to three-and-half hours from Delhi by road.

Tourist numbers nearly doubled from 1.2 million in 2022 to 2.1 million in 2024.

A committee set up by the National Green Tribunal submitted a 281-page report with recommendations to avoid expansion of construction activities in Mussoorie.

Tourist numbers in 2022 were about 1.2 million.

Estimates suggest Mussoorie’s population rose to about 93,520 in 2022.

Building bylaws were amended in 2015 to regulate construction in fragile hill belts, but implementation was described as virtually non-existent.

The census reported Mussoorie’s population as 30,118.

A Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre (DMMC) survey assessed 3,344 buildings and found that seismic safety norms are often ignored; 19% of surveyed hotel buildings fell in high or very high damage categories.

A 1998 study on slope categories found about 79% of Mussoorie’s area lies on slopes steeper than 30 degrees, leaving only about 2 square kilometers for relatively safe construction.

The Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) was constituted; officials note that nearly 3,000 buildings had come up after its formation.