Chardham highway: NGT pulls up Centre over green clearance, seeks status report

The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday directed Centre to submit a detailed status report on the Chardham all-weather highway including the steps it is going to take with regards to obtaining environmental clearance, on-going work and stretches where work is yet to begin. The green court also pulled up Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) on disposal of muck into river valleys as part of the on-going work on the project and 'expressed dissatisfaction' about it. MoRTH has to file the status report by May 28.

A bench, headed by Acting Chairperson Justice Jawad Rahim, made the observations while hearing an on-going plea that has alleged that MoRTH is executing the Chardham highway project without due environmental clearances by dividing it into segments to avoid seeking a consolidated environmental clearance.

The Rs.12,000 crore pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi involves widening of 900kms of existing highways to provide all-weather connectivity between the Hindu pilgrimage sites of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri.

"We would like you to ensure that this (muck disposal in valley) does not happen. We have seen videos and photographs and we are far from satisfied. Prima facie, the muck is going beyond retaining walls," the bench remarked. During last week's hearing, the petitioner had showed videos of muck being dumped on a stretch of the project in Mandakini valley near Rudraprayag.

Senior advocate Sanjay Parikh, appearing for the petitioner, told the NGT that the work carried out on the project till now is 'blatantly illegal' and that it was a malafide exercise to divide the project into fragments.

In an affidavit submitted to NGT on Tuesday on behalf of Centre, Additional Solicitor General Atmaram Nadkarni said that there might have been some irregularities in the disposal of muck at initial stage and therefore ministry as well as state government has taken stringent strength measures and also imposed penalties on the contractor.

The ASG also added that the "project is of national importance having regard to the fact that these are border areas. Expansion of roads is required in larger national interest and there cannot be any compromise on this. While preparing DPR for the project, environmental studies have been undertaken and those concerns are also addressed." Nadkarni told the bench that the Centre has no qualms in applying for environmental clearance but work if left incomplete will cause problems due to the impending monsoon.