Char Dham road project: CM Rawat to urge Centre to widen the road

Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Trivendra Singh Rawat, has expressed concern over Supreme Court's order which said the Char Dham roads should not be stretched more than 5.5 meters. The CM said that the planned 5.5 meters of road width will not aid in strategic terms. It will not be beneficial for security and connectivity for the sensitive bordering areas of state where movement of forces and supplies should be agile, he added.

During a press conference, the Chief Minister addressed a query about the Char Dham project, “5.5 metre road width se kaam nahi chalega. (5.5 m road width won’t work), he said.
The Chief Minister said that he will request the Central Government to look into this matter, as having a wider road is essential in the strategically important border areas. The all-weather road project aims to connect the four shrines of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri through an 826km long road.

On September 8, 2020, the Supreme Court had ordered that the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) circular of 2018 is to be followed for Char Dham road construction. The MoRTH circular says that the roads in the hilly and mountain terrains are to be of 5.5 m width (18 ft) with two-lane structures (23 ft).

Chief Minister Rawat will be soon writing to the Centre emphasising the strategic importance and necessity for a wider Char Dham road especially in the wake of recent tensions with neighboring China and Nepal. Also explaining how such roads would be beneficial for the increasing number of pilgrims visiting the state. Darshan Singh Rawat, media coordinator for CM Rawat, said.
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The CM added that the state government can’t file a special petition in the Supreme Court on the matter since the Central government and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) are directly dealing with the matter.