Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi and Congress leader Karan Singh have urged Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Environment Minister Bhupinder Yadav to cancel forest clearances granted by the Uttarakhand government for the Nitala bypass and Jhala-Jangla stretch in the eco-sensitive Bhagirathi district, warning that the projects threaten disaster-prone terrain amid the state’s growing vulnerability.
They also demanded that all ongoing and proposed works in the eco-sensitive Bhagirathi area be subjected to a new and cumulative environment and disaster risk assessment.
In a letter dated February 27, the two leaders, along with other leaders from Uttarakhand, pointed out that infrastructure projects are being proposed and implemented without considering the changing terrain and associated risks, despite the worsening risks in the state.
“The Chardham Road Widening Project in Uttarakhand is being implemented on the same standard of width of the road which has already proven to be disaster-prone and unsafe… In one of the most important stretches of this project – the eco-sensitive Bhagirathi district, two packages as part of this project have been approved on the same standard of width of the demolished road. The two critical packages are: Nitala corridor and Jhala-Jangla stretch, which includes large-scale felling of deodar trees,” the letter adds. Both the permits are illegal, and neither They are defensible and constitute a violation of binding constitutional, legislative and judicial mandates.
HT had reported on December 6 last year that the Uttarakhand government had given its approval for expansion of a 20.6-km stretch under the Char Dham project in the upper reaches of the eco-sensitive Bhagirathi district. The stretch, called Package 1, connects Bhairunghat district with Jala villages in Uttarkashi district.
According to a letter from the Uttarakhand Chief Forest Forces (HoFF), the extension will result in loss of 41.92 hectares of forest area, which includes many deodar trees.
HT reported on August 28 that the Uttarakhand Forest Department has approved forest diversion for 8.70 km in the eco-sensitive Bhagirathi district, despite warnings from environmental experts about increased vulnerability to disasters in the region. The official communication dated July 21, seen by HT, shows that the state has given approval to the Border Roads Organization (BRO) to build a 17.50-hectare stretch from Hina to Takla in Uttarkashi as part of the Char Dham Road.
“The deforestation of the Nitala Corridor is illegal as it is against the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, which has granted only conditional approval for the Char Dham works, subject to strict adherence to the recommendations of the High Commission (HPC). The HPC has recommended cancellation of the Nitala Corridor, considering its futility,” the letter said.
In the case of the Jhala-Jangla tree clearing, she added: “The clearing allows the felling of nearly 7,000 trees in the Deodar forest, which is particularly worrying and illegal. This forest stands on loose debris and unstable geological material, in the same area that witnessed the recent Darali disaster.”
“Any form of disturbance – whether logging, uprooting or even so-called tree ‘planting’ – will inevitably destabilize the slope, alter hydrology, and significantly increase risks to human life and downstream settlements,” the report adds while emphasizing that proceeding with deforestation in an already unstable natural area is a flagrant violation of the Precautionary Principle, the Disaster Management Act 2005, and the Public Trust Principle, under which the state has and has a duty to protect natural resources that are not It can be compensated, not put at risk.
HT has reached out to both Gadkari and Yadav to get their response.
