The Uttarakhand forest department has granted a crucial in-principle approval for widening a significant stretch of road inside the ecologically fragile Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone (BESZ). This decision paves the way for non-forest activities on a 20.6-kilometer segment, a move that has ignited strong opposition from environmentalists and local citizens.
Strategic Exemption and National Importance Cited
The clearance was issued under the signature of the former head of forest force (HoFF), Samir Sinha. The approval letter references a 2024 communication from the Union environment ministry that categorizes this project as one of national importance.
The legal basis for the clearance stems from the amended Forest (Conservation and Augmentation) Act, 1980. Specifically, the project falls under Section 1A, sub-section (2)(c), which provides an exemption for strategic linear projects located within 100 kilometers of international borders or the Line of Actual Control (LAC) from the standard forest clearance process.
Steep Environmental Cost and Expert Warnings
This proposed widening is part of the larger Char Dham all-weather road project. The environmental cost of this approval is substantial: it will lead to the loss of approximately 41.9 hectares of forest land and the felling of an estimated 6,822 trees, including the revered deodar species.
The decision comes despite stark warnings from experts. In August, shortly after a devastating flash flood hit Dharali village in Uttarkashi, two members of the Supreme Court-appointed committee for the BESZ zonal master plan raised alarms. They cautioned that executing the project in its current form would destabilize the fragile Himalayan slopes.
The experts had strongly recommended adopting an alternative detailed project report (DPR) design submitted in 2023. They argued this alternative would maintain road functionality without compromising slope stability or violating the protective BESZ notification. The Dharali flash flood event tragically unfolded almost exactly as these experts had predicted.
Citizen Protest and Unanswered Questions
Alarmed by the planned deforestation in this sensitive region, scores of citizens, environmentalists, and activists embarked on a yatra (journey) to Uttarkashi on Saturday. The protest was called by former Union minister Murli Manohar Joshi and former Rajya Sabha MP Karan Singh.
One of the organizers, Ayush Joshi, posed critical questions to the state government. "We have just one question for the state govt: how many transplanted trees have survived, and where are they being moved? What about the ecology that will be affected by large-scale tree felling in such a fragile landscape?" he asked.
The protesters expressed a growing collective concern over the deteriorating environmental conditions in the Himalayas. They blame unprecedented construction activity, warning that such projects are only amplifying disasters in Uttarakhand. The yatra is scheduled to culminate in a major protest in Uttarkashi on Sunday.
