New Delhi, December 14, : .The Supreme Court approved Tuesday double-lane shoulder configurations for Chardham Road Project.
This is a highly prestigious project by the NDA government.It was done in consideration of recent security threats at the India-China border and the strategic significance of double-lane roads to allow swift movement for Armed Forces.Justice D.Y.heads a bench.Justice D.Y.headed the bench.Chandrachud stressed the importance of striking a balance when strategic roads are needed for national security and principle sustainable development.This is critical to preserve the environment.
This court cannot second-guess infrastructural requirements of Armed Forces, according to the bench.
An oversight committee was also established by the Supreme Court, headed by Justice A.K.Sikri was appointed to oversee the implementation of all recommendations made by the high-power oversight committee and ensure that remedial actions are taken in the best interest of the environment.Top court ruled that the Ministry of Defence’s application to increase roads for operational requirements of Armed Forces was not fraudulent.
According to the bench, the highways are not comparable with any other mountainous or hilly roads.
A plea was heard by Citizens for Green Doon, an NGO seeking to have the top court stop the felling of trees on the Ganeshpur-Dehradun Road.(NH-72A) is a section of the Delhi-Dehradun expressway.
In 2018, the Centre’s notification said that the road width cannot exceed 5.5 meters in the hilly terrains like the one through which Chardham project is proposed.In September 2020, the top court directed the government to keep the width of the Chardham road at 5.5 meters.
In December, 2020, the Defence Ministry had sought permission from the top court to widen roads for national security, and contended that three national highways — Rishikesh to Mana, Rishikesh to Gangotri and Tanakpur to Pithoragarh — lead up to the northern border with China, which act as feeder roads.
The Chardham highway is a 900-kilometre road project to provide all-weather connectivity to the four Hindu pilgrimage centres in Uttarakhand.
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