GUWAHATI: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced that the proposed felling of around 3,000 trees for the Rishikesh-Bhaniyawala four-lane highway project has been put on hold until a consensus is reached among all stakeholders.
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The decision comes amid mounting protests by environmentalists, local residents and students over the ecological impact of the National Highways Authority of India's (NHAI) proposed four/six-lane Dehradun-Rishikesh corridor, which passes through a sensitive elephant corridor in Rajaji National Park.
In a post on social media on Saturday, July 18, Dhami said that while infrastructure development remains a priority, it would not come at the cost of public sentiment, environmental concerns or the interests of local communities.
"Uttarakhand's natural heritage, public sentiment and development are equally important. Our government will proceed only through dialogue, consensus and in the public interest," the Chief Minister said.
Officials said around 400 trees had already been felled before the government decided to suspend further tree-cutting.
The state government said the decision was taken after consultations with the Centre and that any further action on the project would be in accordance with the directions of the Uttarakhand High Court.
The proposed highway expansion involves widening nearly 20 km of the Rishikesh-Bhaniyawala stretch, for which approximately 3,000 trees are slated to be cut.
According to the government, the NHAI project has secured all statutory and environmental clearances. It also includes several mitigation measures, including a nearly 3.5-km-long elephant underpass and specially designed culverts to facilitate the movement of smaller animals across the highway.
Officials said these wildlife-friendly structures are aimed at reducing human-animal conflict and preventing road accidents involving wildlife along the forested stretch.
However, the project has triggered widespread opposition, with environmental groups, local residents and students staging protests in the Saat Mod area over the past several days. Tree-felling operations had been carried out under police protection before the suspension was announced.