Uttarkashi residents demand halt to Char Dham project in protected Himalayan zone - 'An everyday risk to our lives'

Badrinath National Highway

Residents of Uttarkashi have formally demanded an immediate halt to a contentious highway project within a legally protected Himalayan zone, citing severe environmental risks and a disregard for a Supreme Court committee’s earlier rejection of the plans.

In a letter addressed to three Union ministries and a retired Supreme Court judge, the community group Himalayan Nagrik Drishti Manch called for the cancellation of the Border Roads Organisation’s (BRO) proposed Netala bypass, according to a TOI report.

The project is part of the broader Char Dham infrastructure initiative and falls within the Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone (BESZ), a 4,157 sq km protected area stretching from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi.

According to the report by TOI, the residents’ demands are threefold: an immediate stop to all Char Dham project work within the BESZ, the specific cancellation of the Hina-Tekhla (Netala) bypass and a joint inspection of the affected area by all stakeholders.

The letter was sent to the secretaries of the ministries of defence, road transport and environment, as well as to Justice (retd) A K Sikri, who chairs the Supreme Court’s high-powered committee (HPC).

The dispute centres on the Netala bypass on the Uttarkashi-Gangotri route. The HPC had previously rejected this specific proposal in 2020 over concerns about environmental destabilisation and its impact on local communities.

As per TOI, locals now allege that the BRO is preparing to begin work after securing what they describe as a recent "in-principle approval" from the forest department, an approval they contend "ignores the legal and scientific objections still on record."

The opposition is rooted in firsthand experience of the region’s fragility. The letter to the authorities cited recent environmental damage, noting that after the Dharali deluge, the highway up to Bhatwadi was severely affected and that many new landslides have emerged along the Sainj-Maneri stretch. They argue that while disasters often lead to new contracts for construction firms, they leave local villagers with increasingly dangerous and unreliable routes.

"Travelling on these roads is an everyday risk to our lives and livelihood," the residents stated in their letter, as reported by TOI.

A BRO officer deployed in Uttarakhand, who spoke on condition of anonymity to TOI, stated, "We haven't started work yet. We do look forward to meetings with stakeholders to reach consensus before work begins, as these are matters of strategic importance."