Citizens raise ecological, legal & public safety concerns surrounding project
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Raising ecological, legal and public safety concerns, citizens have requested the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to reconsider and scrap the four-laning of the Rishikesh-Bhaniawala road which passes through an ecologically sensitive elephant corridor.
Himanshu Arora from Citizens For Green Doon (CFGD) highlighted the legal concerns surrounding the project, stating that the recent tree felling for the four-laning work appears to have proceeded despite the matter remaining under judicial consideration. He said that while the Uttarakhand High Court had disposed of the Public Interest Litigation earlier this year, it had done so after observing that issues relating to the elephant corridor and tree felling were already pending before the Supreme Court. He cited the Supreme Court’s judgments and ongoing proceedings which place significant emphasis on protecting forest lands and elephant corridors through the application of the precautionary principle. Arora questioned whether the ongoing tree felling was consistent with these judicial directions and stated that legal remedies, including appropriate proceedings before the courts, were being actively explored.
CFGD’s Ira Chauhan said that the proposed highway widening must be viewed not merely as a road project but as a decision with far-reaching environmental consequences for one of Uttarakhand’s most important wildlife corridors. She said the elephant corridor plays a critical role in maintaining habitat connectivity and that any large-scale fragmentation of forests could increase human-wildlife conflict while threatening the movement of elephants and other wildlife. She stressed that development and conservation should not be seen as opposing objectives and called for greater public participation before irreversible decisions are taken.
Speaking about the need for protecting the forests that connect the Rajaji landscape and the wider Himalayan ecosystem, Rishikesh resident Dinesh Semwal said that local communities have always coexisted with wildlife and expressed concern that increasing fragmentation of forests could result in more frequent encounters between humans and elephants, thereby placing both at greater risk. As a long time resident, he stressed that he had never encountered any traffic jams on the road and questioned the very need of the four laning.
Anoop Nautiyal from Social Development for Communities Foundation questioned why the NHAI had started large-scale tree felling during the monsoon season, describing it as a first-of-its-kind instance in Uttarakhand. He said the monsoon is traditionally regarded as the season for plantation and ecological regeneration, making the timing of tree cutting deeply concerning from both environmental and public policy perspectives. Expressing serious concern over the cumulative impact of repeated diversion of forest land for infrastructure projects across Uttarakhand, he questioned whether the State government’s model of balancing economic development with ecological conservation was achieving its stated objectives, particularly in light of the growing pressures on forests, biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Urging that all feasible alternatives be transparently evaluated before irreversible environmental damage is caused, concerned citizens have decided to stage a peaceful protest outside the NHAI office on GMS Road here on Wednesday while stating that this year’s Harela festival will be observed as a “Black Harela” to symbolically highlight the large-scale loss of trees and forests in Uttarakhand.
