How does a tourism infrastructure project suddenly become a concern of the Ministry of Defence in India?
This is the question which every environment activist in the country is asking about the controversial Char Dham Highway Development Project, which has been riddled with ecological violations ever since its construction began in 2016.
The Rs 12,000 crore highway expansion project aims to widen nearly 900 kms of hills in Uttarakhand to provide all weather connectivity to the state’s four major shrines—Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri—all in the upper Himalayas and all in very ecological sensitive zones.
Now, the project from its start had a clear motive to provide easier access to the shrines. But over the years, with each ecological concern raised by activist in the Supremo Court, specifically targeting the petition to widen the roads beyond the Ministry of Roads and Transport 2018 mandate of 5.5 meters, the project has also moved into the ambit of national security.