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Uttarakhand clears diversion of forest for road in sensitive Bhagirathi zone
The information of the approval comes barely three weeks after the devastating Dharali flash floods on August 5, just 70km upstream from the proposed stretch.
The Uttarakhand forest department has approved forest diversion for an 8.70-kilometre stretch in the ecologically sensitive Bhagirathi zone, despite warnings from environmental experts about increased disaster vulnerability in the region.
Official communication dated July 21, seen by HT, shows the state has granted approval to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for constructing the 17.50-hectare stretch from Hina to Tekhla in Uttarkashi as part of the Char Dham route.
“It is a strategic route and hence the state government has given its nod to the stretch,” said Ranjan Mishra, principal chief conservator of forests, Uttarakhand.
The information of the approval comes barely three weeks after the devastating Dharali flash floods on August 5, which occurred just 70 kilometres upstream from the proposed stretch. Environmental activists warn that further forest loss could heighten the region’s disaster risk.
The construction also contravenes recommendations from the Supreme Court-appointed High Powered Committee on Char Dham roads, experts said. The panel, headed by Ravi Chopra and including geologist Navin Juyal, social issues expert Hemant Dhyani, and Wildlife Institute scientist S Sathya Kumar, had recommended dropping the bypass.
“This bypass is recommended to be dropped because the geological infirmities on the existing alignment can be rectified and the local villagers, district administration and the MLA are not in favour,” the committee’s final report, submitted in 2020, stated.
However, the committee was split in its assessment. While five members, including Chopra, argued the project caused “irreversible damage” to Himalayan ecology, 21 other members submitted a separate report claiming ecological damage could be “minimised”.
TThe HPC had 26 members. Majority of 21 members supported a 10-metre-wide road, while four members, including the chairman, recommended a 5.5-metre width.
“This is also called Netala bypass. The fresh construction of the road is to bypass a landslide zone. It is a very vulnerable area because of loss of pristine forests involved,” said an independent expert who asked not to be named.
Two Uttarakhand experts — Juyal, who served on the Supreme Court’s 2013 Kedarnath disaster expert body, and Dhyani, a former member of the 2019 High-Powered Committee — flagged concerns about the Netala bypass on August 12.
In a detailed note sent to the ministry of road transport and highways on Tuesday, they warned: “The bypass is proposed through pristine forest that is grown on old landslide deposits which is incised by rain-fed streams. If the road is dug through these deposits, it is likely to suffer from slope instability and subsidence.”
American Puri, head of a municipality ward in Uttarkashi, said local anxiety remained high following recent disasters. “At the moment, people are very worried. They have not overcome the horror of the Dharali flash floods,” he said, adding that several local leaders had written to the Centre requesting deferral of the forest clearance.
The strategic importance of the route, which connects to the India-China border, has driven the approval. Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari told Parliament last year that the final 150-kilometre stretch through the Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone must maintain a minimum 10-metre width to accommodate defence equipment movement.
