The Supreme Court has considered increasing the width of three roads related to the Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand as important for the security of the country. Hearing the petition of an NGO against the project, the court said that the country's security is the first priority. This cannot be overlooked in view of the recent incidents on the border. The court said that we do not want Indian soldiers to be in the situation of 1962. But the needs of both defence and environment should be balanced.
The Center has sought approval from the Supreme Court to widen the roads up to the China border by 10 meters. While an NGO is against road widening. He says that the incidents of landslides are increasing due to the felling of trees in the hilly area. At present, as per the Supreme Court's order of September 2020, the width of these roads cannot exceed 5.5 metres.
The Center had filed a sealed cover in the court two days ago. It had pictures of development done by China. Attorney General KK Venugopal on behalf of the government said – Airstrips, helipads, tanks, buildings for soldiers and railway lines are being constructed from the Chinese side. Trucks carrying tanks, rocket launchers and cannons may have to pass through these roads, so the width of the road should be reduced to 10 metres. Reminding the court about the Indo-China war of 1962, Venugopal said- the court knows what happened in 1962. We the armed forces should pay serious attention to the situation. Our soldiers had to walk to the border.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the NGO, argued that the real purpose of the roads is a pilgrimage and not the movement of military equipment. These roads are 100 km from the border and have nothing to do with the army. The hills of the Himalayan range are new and fragile. Removing the 5.5-meter width rule will have disastrous effects on the ecosystem.
The Chardham project aims to connect the four holy sites of the hill state Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath in all-weather. After completion of this project, Char Dham Yatra can be done every season. A 900 km long road is being constructed under this project. Till now 400 km of road has been widened.
According to an estimate, so far 25,000 trees have been cut, due to which environmentalists are angry. Citizen for Green Doon Neem's NGO had filed a petition in the Supreme Court following the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) order dated 26 September 2018. The NGO claimed that the damage caused by this project in the hilly area would not be compensated.
The court's September order was based on a 2018 notification by the transport ministry fixing a uniform width of 5.5 meters for hill roads. The width of the road was decided to keep in mind the fragile ecosystem of the hills. However, in December 2020, this notification was amended to widen the roads leading to the India-China border by 7 metres.
In view of the danger of landslides, the court had constituted a 26-member committee. They were asked to consider the demand of the army. The committee gave its report on 31 December 2020. In this, a double-lane carriageway width of 7 meters was approved for the Char Dham project roads as per the wishes of the Center and the Army. However, four members of the panel, including committee chairman Ravi Chopra, disagreed on the widening. They recommended no change with a width of 5.5 metres.
