The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday came in for heavy criticism from religious enthusiasts after it ordered the Amarnath cave - one of the holiest Hindu shrines - in J&K to be turned into a "silence zone".

The environmental court's concern was that the ice stalagmite, located at a high altitude of 12,756 feet, may be permanently damaged in an avalanche. Located 141 km from Srinagar, it remains snow-clad for eight months in a year. Over six lakh pilgrims trek up to the shrine of Lord Shiva every July to August.

Often, they leave behind a trail of waste in terms of cloth pieces, photo frames, etc., disturbing the south Himalayan feature's natural ecology. Loud noises also create a risk of snow collapsing and a disaster akin to which struck the Kedarnath temple in the 2013 Uttarakhand floods.

A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said, "From the point of stairs and the area inside the cave should be declared a 'silence zone.' Nobody would be permitted to carry anything from the stairs, including mobile phones, leading to the holy cave and everybody should be properly frisked at the entry point."

The bench asked the Amarnath Shrine Board to construct a place where pilgrims can keep their valuables. It also directed a panel of experts constituted by it earlier, and headed by an additional secretary of the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), to submit an action plan on providing facilities to the pilgrims within three weeks.

The move, however, did not go well with several rightwing organisations. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) termed the NGT's order a Tughlaki fatwa (whimsical whip) and said Hindus were not responsible for every ecological problem on earth.

"We appeal to the Government of India to stop hurting Hindu religious sentiments all the time for one or the other reason and to get the NGT to withdraw such a Tughlaki fatwa at once," VHP international president Pravin Togadia said.

Daring the court, a BJP spokesperson also tweeted, "I will go to Amarnath Yatra and chant 'Bam Bam Bhole' and 'Har Har Mahadev.' I challenge NGT to stop me if you can."

The green panel had earlier ordered the removal of iron grills in front of the ice stalagmite resembling the 'Shiva Linga' so that devotees could get a better view of it and said there should be no noise pollution near the sacred structure.

"The board should ensure that proper infrastructural facilities are provided to the pilgrims so that they are not deprived of a clear 'darshan' and the ecology of the area is maintained," it had said.

The panel took exception to non-compliance with the directions issued by the SC in 2012 and asked the board what steps it had taken in all these years.

Environment activist Gauri Maulekhi, on whose plea the directions were passed, said, "The Amarnath cave is located in a delicate ecosystem. The directions would make the Amarnath Yatra safe and convenient for devotees."

It directed the panel to submit a report on aspects of providing a proper path and while maintaining cleanliness in the area. The matter will be heard next on January 18 next year.

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