“Government wants to expand roads to implement Char Dham Pariyojna, not to cater to army’s needs”: NGO tells Supreme Court
Colin Gonsalves, Senior Advocate, appearing for an NGO Citizens for Green Doon argued that the army has reluctantly agreed for the expansion of roads is primarily because the government intends to implement ‘Char Dham Pariyojna.’ He was referring to the project which will upgrade and develop the road which connects all four 'Dhams' i.e Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath and seeks to make the Hindu pilgrimage accessible vide a 900-km road.
The Central Government had filed an application for modification of order of the Supreme Court in the matter dated 8th September 2020. The government sough the widening of road due to the ongoing problems at the northern border with China.
Appearing for the government, Attorney General K.K.Venugopal submitted that the road needs to be widened to carry army supplies owing to the build up at the Chinese end. He argued that the order dated 8th September 2020 has lead to suffocation in the defence of the country as the court has said that the roads cannot exceed 5.5 meters.
The AG, arguing before a bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Vikram Nath submitted that original petition filed by ‘Green Doon’ was with regard to the expansion of roads that lead to Char Dham. He argued that army needs a wider road to carry the supplies and the order of the court did not look into the requirements of the army.
He argued that the order of the Supreme Court was based on a circular of the government from 2018, however the circular did not look into the needs of the army. The government has passed another circular in 2020 taking the army’s need into consideration and they were seeking the court’s permission to implement it.
It was argued that in the 1962 Indo-China war, the government could not supply the army with essentials and that the soldiers had to walk up the mountains to fight, the government seeks to expand the road so that the troops could be supplied.
The AG said “We have apprised Mr.Gonsalves of the situation in which the army is placed. He is a senior advocate so I know it won’t be in the public domain. In October the Chinese government has passed a law to protect their borders. So we need to build the roads now.”
Colin Gonsalves argued that the 2020 amendment is the same as the 2012 circular which the court did not accept and that the HPC said that the effect of the roads will be dramatic. He said “ This is happening because the Char Dham Pariyojana was declared, it provides for highways on the mountains. This will enable SUVs to race up and down the mountain. This comes at a terrible cost and it needs to be weighed.”
Justice Chandrachud retorted to this by asking if the factual position that there is a troop build up by China can be denied and that these roads are feeder roads carrying essential supplies to the troops in the border.
Gonsalves then argued that the army is acting on political pressure and a journalist met General Bipin Rawat, who said that the army is happy with the existing roads. He argued that the government built 17 Hydro electric projects went bumper to bumper in Himalayas and in 2013 cloud burst, the damage was caused the by bumper to bumper project.
Justice Chandrachud replied saying the court can impose stringent conditions if the government wants to expand the road to improve tourism, however they cannot second guess when it comes to defence issues.
Gonsalves further argued that while the HPC filed an unanimous interim report in March 2020, they did not do so in the final report because of political directive. He further alleged that many members of the HPC were directly or indirectly linked to the government and hence followed the government’s directive.
He argued that climate change was never a scientific discourse and that HPC’s report on climate change is the first scientific discourse on the impact of climate change in the Himalayas.
The court will continue hearing the matter tomorrow.
Case title:Citizens for Green Doon Vs Union of India