The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is considering making design changes on a stretch of Char Dham Road in the eco-sensitive Bhagirathi district after several environmental activists and veteran politicians Murli Manohar Joshi (of the Bharatiya Janata Party) and Karan Singh (of the Congress) raised the alarm over its environmental impact.
HT reported on March 3 that Joshi and Singh had urged Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Environment Minister Bhupinder Yadav to cancel forest clearances granted by the Uttarakhand government for the Nitala bypass and Jala-Jangla stretch in the eco-sensitive Bhagirathi district, warning that the projects pose a threat to the stability of the vulnerable hills. The duo has raised concerns about the impact of widening the Char Dham road since the Darali flash floods last August.
Senior officials from MoRTH said on condition of anonymity that they are considering certain design changes to accommodate the concerns of environmentalists in Uttarakhand, but emphasized that the expansion is crucial due to the strategic nature of the stretch, which connects to the India-China border, meaning the road should be wide enough to transport defense equipment.
Environmental activists said the disaster-prone road may be unsafe even from the perspective of movement of troops and equipment.
Transport ministry officials added that they had met Uttarakhand-based NGOs and Border Roads Organization (BRO) in October and November last year and discussed that hill cutting in the Uttarkashi-Gangotri stretch would be reduced and construction would not start until the slope stabilized. Netala bypass and the stretch from Hina to Tikhla in Uttarkashi will now not be taken up and a new project report will be generated for the former, they said. HT reported that the construction of the bypass is against the recommendations of the Supreme Court-appointed committee on Char Dham roads. The committee, headed by Ravi Chopra and including geologist Naveen Goyal, social issues expert Hemant Dayani and Wildlife Institute of India scientist S Satya Kumar, recommended dropping the bypass.
Ministry officials also said that the number of trees to be cut for widening the Jala-Jangla stretch that feeds Harshil will decrease from 6,000 to 1,500.
HT reported last year that the Uttarakhand forest department had approved forest diversion for 8.70 km in the ecologically sensitive Bhagirathi district; Granting approval to Border Roads Organization (BRO) to construct a 17.50 hectare stretch from Hina to Takla in Uttarkashi as part of Char Dham Road; It approved the expansion of a 20.6 km stretch under the Char Dham project in the upper reaches of the eco-sensitive Bhagirathi district.
Environmental activists have questioned whether such deforestation operations will be suspended now that the Ministry of Environment and Development is considering a change in specifications and design. “We want to see what changes are being made to the road width specifications and how the number of felling of trees has been reduced to 1,500? There should be a basis for this which should be in writing. We have recommended that the width of the blacktop should be 5.5 meters while the government is planning it to be 10 metres. We also said that the Nitala corridor should be scrapped as it is illegal as it is against the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, which has given only conditional approval for the Char Dham works, which are strictly subject to adhering to the recommendations of the High Commission (HPC). More importantly, has the government canceled the deforestation granted for Nitala and Jhala-Jangla stretch? Hemant Dayani, convenor, Ganga Ahvan and High Court-appointed member of the High Court Committee (HPC) for the Char Dham project, said environmentalists who are fighting to ensure a safer and environmentally sound road design for the project in the eco-sensitive Bhagirathi district, said members of Demand Justice that includes Joshi are considering moving the court if their demands are not met.
HT reported on August 7 last year that the catastrophic floods and glacial debris flow on August 5 in Darali highlighted the trade-offs involved in building the final stretch of the Char Dham Road. Residents are particularly concerned that conditions recommended by the Supreme Court-appointed committee, referred to in the Supreme Court order dated December 14, 2021 regarding a stretch of about 100 km linking Uttarkashi to Gangotri and passing through the eco-sensitive Bhagirathi district, have been ignored. The Supreme Court order cited the recommendations of the committee headed by Ravi Chopra: that the BRO should obtain all required permits from the Ministry of Environment; That widening the road should only be undertaken after conducting a detailed environmental impact assessment and implementing mitigation measures; Cutting of deodar trees should be avoided; Vulnerability assessments and terrain assessments should be conducted.
