Veteran Leaders Flag Disaster Risks, Seek Review Of Char Dham Road Widening In Uttarakhand

Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi and former Union minister Karan Singh have written to key Union Cabinet ministers urging the government to withdraw forest clearances granted for two road widening stretches under the Char Dham project in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district.

In letters addressed to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, environment minister Bhupender Yadav and the Border Roads Organisation, the leaders flagged growing disaster vulnerability in the upper Ganga region.

They sought cancellation of approvals linked to the Jhala Jangla stretch and the Netala bypass, both part of the Char Dham road expansion.

The leaders also called for a fresh assessment of all ongoing and proposed works in the Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone and demanded that road width in the Bhagirathi valley be limited to 5.5 metres.

They said this would align with the demands of local communities, scientific assessments and the area’s fragile geology and ecology.

The letter was endorsed by K N Govindacharya, former MP Kunwar Rewati Raman Singh and members of the Himalayi Nagrik Drishti Manch, a citizen forum based in Uttarkashi.

Highlighting the impact of climate change in the Himalayas, the signatories referred to repeated disasters, including incidents in Dharali, Harsil and Chamoli, as well as the Silkyara tunnel collapse, which underscored the risks of large scale infrastructure activity in unstable terrain.

They noted that forest clearances permitting the felling of around 7,000 deodar trees contradicted the recommendations of a Supreme Court appointed high powered committee.

On the Jhala Jangla stretch, the letter stated, “This forest stands on loose debris and unstable geological material, in the very area of the recent Dharali disaster.”

The leaders said they had been assured that their concerns were being examined at the highest levels of the government.

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