The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Central government to construct three double lane strategic highways for Uttarakhand’s Char Dham Project. While reading the verdict, Justice DY Chandrachud said that the principle of sustainable development is deeply embedded in Indian environmental law and deals with equity not only in development for future and present generation but also current development.
The government said that in a bid to reduce the risk of landslides in the Himalayan region because of the widening of the road, all necessary steps are taken to mitigate disaster. The government added that the landslides have taken place in various parts of the country and not specifically due to the construction of roads. The widening of roads is also needed so as to help the army to move missile launchers and heavy machinery up towards the India-China border.
Justice Chandrachud said, “We find there are no malafides in MA filed by Defence Ministry. MoD is authorized to design operational requirements of armed forces. Bonafide of MoD is apparent from security concerns raised in the security committee meeting.” He further said that armed force cannot be held up for statements made to media in 2019 as a statement written in stone. “This court in the exercise of judicial review cannot second guess the requirements of army,” he said.
While allowing the construction of three strategic highways on the application of the Defence Ministry, the Supreme Court said that the HPC (High-powered committee) recommendations on environmental concerns must be followed. An oversight committee headed by Justice AK Sikri will also be set up and report to the SC directly on the project. The oversight committee shall ensure the recommendations of the HPC are implemented and not conduct a fresh analysis.
The apex court was hearing the Centre’s plea seeking modifications in the September 8, 2020 order which asked the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to follow 2018 circular that stipulated a carriageway width of 5.5 metres on the ambitious Chardham highway project. The highway goes up to the border with China.
The strategic 900 km long Char Dham project is worth Rs 12,000 crore and will provide all-weather connectivity to four holy towns of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand. PM Modi laid the foundation of the project in December 2016. He had said it was a tribute to those who lost their lives during the flash floods in the state.
However, in 2018, an NGO had challenged the road expansion project citing environmental concerns and impact on Himalayan ecology. An HPC was formed under ‘environmentalist’ Ravi Chopra by the Supreme Court to examine various issues. The HPC submitted two reports in July 2020. The members did not agree on the width of the hill roads. In September, the SC upheld recommendations of four HPC members including Chopra’s which limited carriageway width to 5.5 meters. Majority report by 21 HPC members of which 14 were govt officials favoured the width of road to 12 meters for a double lane highway.
However, on Tuesday, a bench comprising of Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Vikram Nath pronounced order to permit govt of India to build road with 10 meters of tarred surface as opposed to 5.5 meters.