Can We Ignore Defence Needs For Environment?: SC On Widening Char Dham Road
Mumbai: Commenting on the Centre’s proposal of widening Uttarakhand’s Char Dham road, Supreme Court asked if it can ignore defence needs for the environment.
The arguments were made when the court was hearing a plea by a non-governmental organization (NGO) against the government’s plan to widen the Char Dham highway by 10 meters against the mandatory 5.5 meters.
The NGO, Green Doon, in its petition opposing the widening of the highway, cited large-scale landslides and other environmental calamities due to the felling of trees for infrastructure projects and the destruction of the ecosystem.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves told the bench that the Army has not asked for the widening of roads and the central government was doing so only in 2016 for the Char Dham project.
“You have to weigh that cost because there are physical restrictions on what humans can do in the Himalayas. Studies show that black soot collection, due to heavy traffic up and down the roads and helicopters going, is setting on the glacier which is very close to the Char Dham, these glaciers are breaking and you have catastrophe after catastrophe!” he said in court, as quoted by Live Law.
Attorney General KK Venugopal, representing the central government, said the concerns are of national security.
“China is building helipads and buildings on the other side, so trucks carrying artillery, rocket launchers and tanks may have to pass through these roads,” Venugopal said.
The bench said that if the concerns are defence-related, it is a predicament for the court and the matter has to be approached in a nuanced way.
“Can the highest constitutional court say that we will override the defence needs particularly in the face of recent events especially for environmental concerns – or should the court have a more nuanced approach?” Justice DY Chandrachud said, as quoted by NDTV.
The bench further asked if Gonsalves had any reports of Chinese activity on the other side and the same must be produced before the court.
The hearing will continue on Wednesday.
(With Agency Inputs)
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