NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has stayed construction of ultra modern housing project which includes resorts and a helipad in Nainital district of Uttarakhand in high-altitude forest area of the Kumaon Himalayas and directed the construction company to maintain status quo till further order.A bench of Justices RF Nariman and Indu Malhotra passed the order on a plea of a resident of the area alleging that construction was going on in the forest area in violation of law and no statutory clearance was taken by the company Devanya Private Ltd from concerned authorities before embarking on the project for constructing 50 resorts/cottages with swimming pools and a helipad in ecologically sensitive zone.The petitioner, Birendra Singh, moves SC after National Green Tribunal NGT ) refused to stay the construction and allow the company to go ahead.Challenging NGT order, senior advocate Gopal Subramanium and lawyer Vipin Nair, told the bench that tribunal erred in dismissing the plea against the company and pleaded that construction work should be immediately stayed to protect the pristine environment in the area."The tribunal made a serious error in completely ignoring the affidavit of the Central Pollution Control Board which clearly states that a prior environmental clearance and environment management plan are pre-requisit for the said project which must be obtained from the state environment assessment authority," the petitioner said.Alleging that massive construction involving earth moving machinery were operating in the area, the petitioner contended that such activities would disturb the fragile biodiversity and ecosystem of the area which is home to a variety of species of birds and animals, including threatened species like leopard and cheer pheasant"There should be an interim injunction against any non-forest activity in the area till a survey is conducted by the revenue and forest department, the impugned judgement suffers the vice of perversity due to the complete misreading of the court commissioner's report which said that it was for the tribunal to adjudicate on the issue whether the area is a deemed forest as per the provisions of statutory enactments and law laid down by SC. The area nestles in the pristine high-attitute forests of the Kumaon Himalayas of Uttrakahand in the district of Nainital with a healthy abundance of wildlife and birds and is one of the few locations in India where man and nature co-exist peacefully," the petition said.The court, after a brief hearing, passed the order and said "Status quo shall be maintained by the parties" and issued notice to the Centre and state government seeking their reply on the petition.