Char Dham Project

The Supreme Court has modified its earlier 2020 order which had directed the centre to not widen the three Himalayan Highways (Rishikesh to Mana, Rishikesh to Gangotri and Tanakpur to Pithoragarh) based on environmental concerns.

• It has now allowed the Union Ministry of Defence to widen the roads for the Centre’s 899-km Char Dham project in Uttarakhand, due to its strategic importance for border and national security.

Implications of the Judgment

• It denies people their right to clean and healthy environment enshrined under Article 21 of Indian constitution.
• Right to healthy environment is an important attribute of right to live with human ....