The Supreme Court on Friday appointed its former judge Justice AK Sikri as Chairperson of the court-appointed High Powered Committee to look after the environmental concerns and other issues related to the Char Dham highway project.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant accepted the resignation of environmentalist Ravi Chopra who was heading the High Powered Committee (HPC) overseeing the project in the Himalayan valley leading up to the Chinese border.
Professor Chopra had written a letter in January wishing to resign from the post on which he was appointed by the top court on August 8, 2019.
Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that since Justice (retd) Sikri has already been appointed by this court as chairperson of the oversight committee to look after environmental concerns and other issues related to the Char Dham project, it would be better if he is appointed as Chairperson.
The bench agreed to the suggestion and appointed Justice (retd) Sikri to head HPC which would consider the cumulative and independent impact of the Char Dham project on the entire Himalayan valley.
The Supreme Court had set up the High Powered Committee in August 2019 and mandated it to consider the ecological impact of the 899-km project, which the government has said will improve access to four Hindu pilgrim sites in Uttarakhand.
In December last year, the top court allowed the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for double-lane widening of roads that are part of the Char Dham project in Uttarakhand in view of security concerns at the Indo-China border.
The apex court had modified its September 8, 2020 order which had restricted the width of Char Dham projects - Rishikesh to Mana, Rishikesh to Gangotri and Rishikesh to Pithoragarh, and allowed the double-lane widening of three strategic roads.
The top court had in September 2020 ordered that the road width on the entire Char Dham route cannot be more than 5.5 metres in view of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) circular in 2018.
Seeking modification of the September order, the MoD had said that Justice Rohinton F Nariman's Bench had allowed 5.5 metres, but the MoRTH amended it, as the roads are being used for different purposes, going right up to the Chinese borders.The Central government had told the top court to accept the majority view of the HPC, which favoured a 10-metre road width for the Rs 12,000-crore Char Dham highway project.
The Chairman of the HPC had, in a minority report, flagged the widening of roads under the Char Dham project, which touches sensitive borders with China.
The apex court in December had also set up an oversight committee headed by Justice (retd.) Sikri to oversee the project with respect to the three highways and report to the Court directly on the same.
It had said the Committee would ensure that all remedial measures are taken in the interest of the environment and recommendations of the High Power Committee are implemented while going ahead with the project.
NGO Citizens for Green Doon had earlier approached the top court and raised environmental concerns regarding the Char Dham highway project.
By a fresh circular on December 15, 2020, MoRTH also amended its previous circular and increased the road width in hilly and mountainous terrains along the Indo-China border to 10 metres.
( With inputs from ANI )
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