03-12-2020 | 17:24 PM
Char Dham Highway Project
Context:
The Supreme Court has asked the committee monitoring the Char Dham Highway project to consider the applications from the Defence Ministry which is seeking to widen roads up to seven metres in the Indo-China border area within 2 weeks.
Key Highlights
According to the Ministry of Defence, a carriageway width of seven metres is essential to facilitate the transport of heavy vehicles, troops, tanks, armaments and artillery.
It has been a subject of controversy among environmentalists because of the involvement of hill cutting, which harms the mountain ecosystems.
According to the environmentalists, the project will greatly affect the highly sensitive Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive zone. River Bhagirathi is the source stream of Ganga.
About Char Dham Project
Char Dham Project, which is worth Rs.12,000 crore, aims to construct wider roads that would connect key pilgrimage spots in Uttarakhand.
The Char Dham project will provide all weather connectivity to Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath.
The agencies implementing the project are the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Uttarakhand State Public Works Department, Border Roads Organisation and National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.
It is being implemented in Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode.
Under the EPC mode, the project cost is completely borne by the Government of India.
