Decks cleared for ₹12,000-cr Chardham road project

Supreme Court has agreed to the Defence Ministry's plea for the widening of three hilly stretches in Uttarakhand, a part of the Chardham road project. The project, which involves ₹12,000 crore investment, crisscrosses areas like Rishikesh to Mana, Rishikesh to Gangotri and Tanakpur to Pithoragarh – forming part of the Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna. This will be in the Double Line-Paved Shoulder (DL-PS) format with a width of 10 metres (7 metre double line carriageway and 1.5 metre paved shoulders on either side) as prescribed by the December 5, 2020 circular of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The bench of Justices D Y Chandrchud, Surya Kant and Vikram Nath modified the top court’s previous order which had asked the MoRTH to stick to its 2018 circular on the width of roads in hilly terrain. In its newest order, the bench said MoRTH and MoD can proceed with the project subject to the condition that it addresses all environmental concerns raised by the High Powered Committee (HPC) that the court had appointed. Noting that the 'Project is riddled with environmental issues', the bench also set up an Oversight Committee, headed by its former judge Justice (retired) A K Sikri, to oversee implementation of the HPC’s recommendations. According to the bench, it is evident that the national highways provide vital connections to the establishments of the Armed Forces along the Nelong Axis, Mana Pass, Rimkhim Pass, Niti Pass and Lipulekh Pass and the need for the development of national highways of a DL-PS standard is proportionate to the object of fulfilling the security concerns of the nation as assessed by the MoD.