new Delhi: The Modi government has once again sought the approval of the Supreme Court-appointed panel for the construction of the Champawat bypass under the Char Dham project in Uttarakhand.
The panel, known as the Oversight Committee (OC), oversees the implementation of 900 km Char Dham Highway ProjectIt aims to provide all-weather connectivity to the four holy cities of the state – Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath.
The committee, headed by former Supreme Court judge AK Sikri, in its report submitted before the top court last week, gave details of the Union Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways’ (MORTH) fresh bid for the bypass. Government wants to make bypass 150 km long Its Tanakpur-Pithoragarh section “All Weather” Char Dham Road In hill state.
In the report, the latest of two submitted last year, the panel says it has yet to approve the 9.8-km project and asked the central government to seek the consent of the Uttarakhand Forest Department. ThePrint has seen the document.
The ministry’s previous application, which was also submitted this year, met a similar fate.
In July 2020, another court-mandated panel – called the High-Powered Committee (HPC) – had refused permission for the bypass.
Then chaired by environmental activist Ravi Chopra, the HPC abandoned the project based on the proposed alignment of the road. Necessary Felling of trees in deodar forest area.
Speaking to ThePrint, Chopra said that when the HPC visited Champawat, it came to know about its small population and pristine forest cover. “The existing road is inside the city and is 8-10 meters wide. Therefore, after detailed deliberations, it was suggested that the Ministry should improve the existing alignment of the road which would be at a very low cost and without much impact or damage to the green cover.
HPC is currently also chairing Sikri,
While the OC oversees the implementation of the Char Dham project, the HPC has been tasked with reviewing its feasibility. ministry proposal To make a two-lane road with a paved shoulder (a 10 m carriageway).
It was on the recommendation of the HPC that the Supreme Court in September 2020 limited the width of three important highways, Rishikesh to Mana, Rishikesh to Gangotri, and Tanakpur to Pithoragarh – all parts of the project – to 5.5 ms,
But in December 2021 the apex court Revised your order to allow Ministry of Defense Application Widening of three strategically important stretches by 10 metres.
In its application, the Defense Ministry said that these stretches serve as feeder roads to the India-China border and are important for national security.
SC’s December 2021 The order also required the OC to submit a status report on the project every four months. The first report was submitted earlier this year, and the latest report was submitted last week.
Read also: SC stresses on nuanced approach on Char Dham project to balance defence, environment concerns
‘Consent of forest department is required’
OC has said in his report That the MoRTH has approached him twice regarding the bypass project.
The first happened on May 21 this year, when the regional office of MoRTH in Dehradun made a detailed representation to the committee on the proposed bypass
During this OC took cognizance of high level committee July 2020 Report As per the latest report, “Construction of Champawat Bypass was not possible due to environmental issue”.
It further states that the Forest Department of Uttarakhand had rejected the proposal in 2020 And asked the ministry to approach it again for its consent.
Besides this, the organizing committee had also directed the ministry to conduct a comparative study of the existing roads passing through Champawat town in Uttarakhand and the proposed alignment of the bypass, the report said.
The report added that the organizing committee, in its meeting on May 23, had decided not to consider the Champawat project.
The second proposal from MoRTH came on July 11, with the ministry claiming to have completed a comparative study.
After this, the report further states, the members of the Oversight Panel called a virtual meeting on July 27 to discuss the proposal.
But The report said that on specific enquiry, the panel was told that the Uttarakhand Forest Department has not yet cleared the project. The OC was also informed that the previous refusal of the department had come in view of the recommendations of the HPC against the project.
The ministry had also said that the state forest department would be contacted after the approval of the organizing committee.
The report said that after deliberations on August 15 this year, the organizing committee decided that since forest department approval was mandatory, “it would be appropriate to approach MORTH” with a request for permission.
“In the said request, the Ministry may place necessary material relating to the feasibility of construction of Champawat bypass and the manner in which the environmental concerns will be taken care of,” the OC’s report to the top court said.
The panel left it to the forest department to consider the request “independently” by applying its own standards and without being influenced by the 2020 recommendations of the HPC.
The OC’s report also gives an update on the work completed so far on the Char Dham All Weather Road. A chart provided to the panel by the MoRTH’s Dehradun office shows work has been completed on 578.8 km out of the 646 km of the project already handed over to contractors.
There are 53 projects worth an estimated Rs 12,130 Ten million, Under the Char Dham project, 41 of which have been approved (at an estimated cost of Rs 9,242 crore).
Of these, contracts for 38 projects have been awarded, of which 19 are complete, the report said.
Meanwhile, two of the 12 projects that have not yet been approved are currently in the tender stages, with reports saying that one project was “cancelled”.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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