New Delhi: The Char Dham mission is a mega infrastructure mission that goals to attach 4 Hindu pilgrimage websites within the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand: Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. The mission, which was launched in 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, includes widening and upgrading about 900 km of roads, constructing dozens of bridges and tunnels, and reducing via fragile mountain slopes. The mission is estimated to value Rs 12,000 crore and is predicted to be accomplished by 2024.
The federal government claims that the mission will enhance tourism, enhance border safety, and supply all-weather connectivity to the pilgrims who go to the holy websites yearly. Nevertheless, the mission has additionally confronted extreme criticism from environmentalists, activists, and specialists who warn that the mission could have disastrous penalties for the ecology and the individuals of the area.
The Char Dham mission is been blamed for the Silkyara tunnel collapse close to Barkot, which trapped 41 employees beneath the particles for seventeen days. The tunnel, a part of the Char Dham street mission in Uttarakhand, was buried beneath tons of particles and dust, with no signal of life from the employee. The mission has additionally been linked to elevated threat of flash floods and glacial lake outbursts. The mission has additionally been challenged within the Supreme Court docket for violating the environmental norms and the suggestions of assorted committees and specialists.
The Ecological Impression Of Char Dham Venture
The Himalayas are one of the biodiverse and geologically delicate areas on this planet. They’re residence to 1000’s of species of natural world, a lot of that are endemic and endangered. Additionally they present important ecosystem companies corresponding to water, soil, and local weather regulation to thousands and thousands of individuals downstream. The Himalayas are additionally liable to pure hazards corresponding to earthquakes, landslides, flash floods, and cloudbursts, that are exacerbated by human actions corresponding to deforestation, mining, and development.
The Char Dham mission poses a severe menace to the Himalayan ecology and the individuals who rely on it. In line with a report by the Wildlife Institute of India, the mission will have an effect on 31,029 bushes, 33 wildlife corridors, and 216 water our bodies. The mission may also fragment the habitats of a number of endangered species such because the snow leopard, the Himalayan brown bear, the musk deer, and the purple panda. The mission may also enhance the danger of landslides, soil erosion, and sedimentation, which can have an effect on the water high quality and amount of the rivers that originate from the glaciers within the area.
The mission has additionally been challenged within the Supreme Court docket for violating the environmental norms and the suggestions of assorted committees and specialists. In 2018, a petition was filed by an NGO known as Residents for Inexperienced Doon, alleging that the mission didn’t have the required environmental clearance, forest clearance, and wildlife clearance. The petition additionally claimed that the mission didn’t comply with the rules of the Ministry of Highway Transport and Highways, which prescribed a most width of 5.5 meters for the roads within the hilly areas.
The Supreme Court docket appointed a Excessive-Powered Committee (HPC) to look at the influence of the mission and counsel measures to mitigate the opposed results. The HPC, which consisted of 26 members from varied fields, submitted its report in September 2020. The report said that the mission was “ill-conceived” and “unscientific” and advisable that the street width ought to be restricted to five.5 meters, besides at some strategic places.
The report additionally recommended that the mission ought to keep away from reducing via the wildlife corridors, the landslide-prone areas, and the river banks. The report additionally warned that the mission may set off a catastrophe much like the 2013 Kedarnath tragedy, which killed 1000’s of individuals and prompted widespread harm.
Nevertheless, the federal government rejected the HPC report and filed an affidavit within the Supreme Court docket, looking for permission to widen the roads to 10 meters. The federal government argued that the narrower roads would compromise the security and safety of the pilgrims and the military personnel. The federal government additionally claimed that the mission had adopted all of the authorized and environmental procedures and had taken satisfactory steps to reduce the ecological influence.
On 14 December 2021, the Supreme Court docket delivered its judgment on the case, permitting the federal government to widen the roads to 10 meters in three stretches: Rishikesh to Mana, Rishikesh to Gangotri, and Tanakpur to Pithoragarh. The court docket additionally directed the federal government to comply with the HPC suggestions within the remaining stretches and to make sure that the mission doesn’t trigger any irreversible harm to the setting. The court docket additionally ordered the federal government to represent an oversight committee to observe the implementation of the mission and to submit periodic studies to the court docket.
Reactions To The Supreme Court docket Judgment
The Supreme Court docket judgment has evoked combined reactions from totally different stakeholders. The federal government had welcomed the judgment and expressed its dedication to finish the mission as quickly as potential. The federal government has additionally assured that the mission won’t hurt the setting and can profit the individuals of the area.
Nevertheless, the environmentalists and the activists have expressed their disappointment and dismay over the judgment. They’ve argued that the judgment has ignored the scientific proof and the professional opinions and has given a inexperienced sign to the destruction of the Himalayas. They’ve additionally questioned the rationale and the feasibility of the mission and have warned that the mission could have irreversible and catastrophic penalties for the ecology and the individuals of the area.
The mission additionally raises some basic questions concerning the imaginative and prescient and the values that information the event of the Himalayas. What sort of growth do we would like for the Himalayas? Who decides the event priorities and the trade-offs? How will we stability the wants and the aspirations of the current and the long run generations? How will we respect and shield the variety and the dignity of the Himalayan ecology and the individuals?
