Char-Dham Highway Expansion- Can We Override The Concerns of Defence?Or Do We Ensure The Project Comports With Environmental Protection? SC-Full Courtroom Exchange

In connection with the Char-Dham Highway expansion project, the Supreme Court was on Tuesday told that the proposed widening of the roads is only to advance the Centre's "ambitious" Char-Dham Pariyojana.Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves, for the petitioner-NGO, told the bench of Justices D. Y. Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Vikram Nath that the justification offered by the Centre that the expansion of these roads, which are being described as feeder roads leading to the border roads at the Indo-China border, is of strategic importance for national security, is only a ruse and that the Armed Forces has stated that it does not need the same.It may be noted that last year, the Centre had moved an application for the modification of the order dated September 8, 2020 which was passed by a three-Judge Bench headed by Justice Rohinton Nariman, in order to permit the Union of India to make roads with 10 mtrs tarred surface as opposed to the 5.5 mtrs as ordered by the Court. The September 8, 2020 order directed that the roads in hilly and mountainous terrains for the Char Dham Highway project are to be constructed in accordance with the 2018 circular of the MoRTH and hence, the width of the road would remain at 5.5 metres. On December 2, 2020, before the Supreme Court, the Defence Ministry had sought wider roads for national security, arguing that the three national highways- Rishikesh to Mana, Rishikesh to Gangotri and Tanakpur to Pithoragarh- lead up to the northern border with China and act as feeder roads. During that hearing, Justice Nariman had noted that the road and the defence ministries "are not working in tandem with each other". The bench had asked the court-appointed High-Powered Committee to meet and look into the applications filed before the Court by the Ministry of Defence, against reducing the road width, in two weeks. Liberty was also given to the Ministry of Roads to amend its circular. The MoRTH on December 15, 2020 amended its 2018 circular that formed the basis of the ongoing legal case. The 5.5 m maximum width limit for roads in hilly and mountainous areas is now effectively 10 m. "For roads in hilly and mountainous terrain which act as feeder roads to the Indo-China border or are of strategic importance for national security, the carriageway width should be 7 m with 1.5 m paved shoulder on either side", the circular says. Referring to the 2018 circular 'Standards for lane width of national highways and roads developed under central sector schemes in hilly and mountainous terrain'- which the new circular now supersede- the 2020 circular adds, "The standards have been further reviewed in the light of the issues raised by the Ministry of Defence. A committee of chief engineers considered the suggestions received and have recommended modifications to the standards". Reportedly, the HPC also submitted its report in two parts – the majority report and minority report, dated December 31, 2020. In its report to the SC, the high-powered committee presented a divided opinion with the majority in favour of the wider roads on the Char Dham route, considering the strategic requirement and snow removal needs. The minority group comprised high-powered committee chairman Ravi Chopra, who is a noted environmentalist, and two other members, however, expressed their dissent and maintained that the road width should be restricted to 5.5 m.Today's HearingOn Tuesday, Mr. Gonsalves urged that the decision to widen the roads is driven by considerations other than the army- "The army knows what is happening. We too are defence-oriented. We are also 'safety of the armed forces'-oriented. We find it the most hazardous thing that affidavits are filed in this court which are hazardous to the interests of the army""Why are these affidavits, photographs given, if the ministry of defence is not asking for these roads. The Ministry of Defence is asking for something very close to what the minority HPC is suggesting, that is the 2018 circular. This is happening because in 2016, the Chardham Pariyojana was declared as a flagship project of the Centre. The Chardham Yojana envisaged highways in the mountains so that the SUVs can go running up and down the mountains. Earlier, pilgrims went on foot. The subsequent intermediate width meant that cars and trucks could go. But that is not good enough. So you must have broad roads so that you feel you are in a city so that you can speed up and down the mountains and you can have helicopters which go to the top of the Chardham. All this has not come without a terrible cost. You have to weigh that cost because the Himalayas have physical restrictions on what human beings can do. Studies show that black soot collection, due to heavy traffic up and down the roads and helicopters going, is setting on the glacier which is very close to the Char Dham, these glaciers are breaking and you have catastrophe after catastrophe!", he advanced.Objecting to this, AG K. K. Venugopal contended that none of ...

Char-Dham Highway Expansion- Can We Override The Concerns of Defence?Or Do We Ensure The Project Comports With Environmental Protection? SC-Full Courtroom Exchange

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