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The Supreme Court has served a blow to “single window” clearances, meant to hasten infrastructural development, in the ecologically fragile and seismic-prone lower Himalayan ranges by temporarily staying the construction of a 90-acre hotel and township project in the Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand.
The petition sought a bar on the commencement of commercial projects in the State without the requisite permission under law and comprehensive Environment Impact Assessment
Kumaon
Kumaon is a revenue and administrative division in the Indian State of Uttarakhand.
It spans over the eastern half of the state and is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Nepal, on the south by the state of Uttar Pradesh, and on the west by Garhwal.
Historically known as Manaskhand and then Kurmanchal, the Kumaon region has been ruled by several Hindu dynasties over the course of history; most notably the Katyuris and the Chands
The people of Kumaon are known as Kumaonis and speak the Kumaoni language.
The hill town Nainital is its administrative centre
The Kumaon region consists of a large Himalayan tract, together with two submontane strips called the Terai and the Bhabar
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