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Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi and former Union Minister Karan Singh appealed for a “review and recall” of the Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling on Char Dham road widening.
Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi and former Union Minister Karan Singh opposed a 2021 Supreme Court ruling on the Char Dham road widening project. (PTI/Representative Image)
Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi and former Union Minister Karan Singh have appealed to Chief Justice BR Gavai for a “review and recall” of the Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling allowing the widening of roads under the Char Dham project, saying it has resulted in massive landslides and sinking zones.
Joshi and Singh said that the 2020 circular of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, which allowed the widening of the roads to 12 metres, should be quashed, and an intermediate road width of 5.5 metres should be adopted as discussed previously, according to The Indian Express.
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The leaders warned that constructing a double-lane paved-shoulder road along the untouched Uttarkashi–Gangotri route would cause unnecessary harm to an already fragile ecosystem, and also cited the unprecedented disaster events in the state due to heavy rainfall.
“This judgment, if not reviewed, will lead to irreparable and immediate impact. Bhagirathi Eco sensitive zone (BESZ) which is the origin of the National River Ganga is also the site of the recent Dharali disaster,” the letter said. “In view of the safety of lives and livelihood of people and all-weather movement of defence forces, it is imperative to consider the ecological sensitivity and limitation of the terrain so as to adopt a disaster and climate resilient approach towards sustainable infrastructure.”
The plea was endorsed by 57 people, including historian Shekhar Pathak, author Ramachandra Guha, and former RSS ideologue KN Govindacharya, among other scientists, MPs and activists.
What Was The SC’s 2021 Verdict?
A Supreme Court bench led by former CJI D Y Chandrachud had upheld the Centre’s plan to widen three national highways as “strategic feeder roads” to border areas near China on December 14, 2021. These roads led from Rishikesh to Mana, Rishikesh to Gangotri and Tanakpur to Pithoragarh.
The Supreme Court approved a request by the Ministry of Defence to proceed with a double-lane paved-shoulder (DL-PS) design for the three highways and established an oversight committee to monitor the project’s execution with appropriate environmental safeguards.
The plea to CJI Gavai said the adoption of the widening to DL-PS road design, featuring a 10-metre tarred surface and a 12-metre formation width, violated a 2018 circular of the Road Transport Ministry, which had recommended an intermediate width of 5.5 m tarred surface for hill and mountain roads, as per the report by The Indian Express.
Joshi and Singh said while the Supreme Court favoured a smaller width in 2020, it was overruled in the 2021 judgement, which has proven “counterproductive and hazardous to the Himalayan terrain.”
They further said all strategic routes are often unusable in the monsoon region due to the risk of landslides, and these routes were further affected by massive landslides caused by the Char Dham widening project, resulting in restricted traffic flow towards the border for several days.
About the Author
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
September 26, 2025, 21:54 IST
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