Disasters highlight trade-offs for construction

CONSTRUCTION OF FINAL STRETCH OF CHAR DHAM ROAD WILL INVOLVE THE FELLING OF 530 TREES, AS PER DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY'S PARIVESH WEBSITE

- Jayashree Nandi

Tuesdays landslides and floods in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi region, in the heart of the Bhagirathi Ecosensitive Zone (BESZ) have yet again highlighted the trade-offs involved in the construction of the final stretch of the Char Dham road.

The forest clearance for the stretch between Tekhla and Badethi has been pending since December last year. Constructing this stretch will involve the felling of 530 trees, according to documents available on the union environment ministry's Parivesh website. The annexures to the Zonal Master Plan of BESZ, available on the ministry's website add that a key concern is the need to protect the forests and green cover in the BESZ.

“It requires minimal cutting of trees in the BESZ for road construction and avoiding multiple roads connecting a village to the state or national highways. This caution was supported by the Uttarakhand chief secretary in the December 9, 2017 meeting and reiterated in the May 2, 2018 meeting. In the January 9, 2018 committee (NGT appointed) meeting, Chandi Prasad Bhatt (Chipko leader) referred to the immense damage potential of the Uttarkashi-Gangotri National Highway widening project currently underway. The plan for widening this stretch will fell 12,995 trees in the BESZ. Almost 6,000 deodar trees are to be felled between Jhala and Gangotri, Bhatt had pointed out that in the latter stretch,” the annexures state, adding that the count of trees to be felled is sourced from a submission on record by union ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH).