The plea had been filed by Citizens for Green Doon, and on February 28, NGT had issued notices to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Uttarakhand government and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change seeking their response.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has refused to pass any interim order to halt tree felling or other works being carried out for the Char Dham Highway widening project in Uttarakhand on a plea that has alleged violation of green laws. The principal bench, comprising of Justices Jawad Rahim and SP Wangdi and expert member Nagin Nanda, noted in their order that the counsel for the petitioner had submitted that there is a possibility of massive tree felling and destruction of natural resources. But the bench said it would like to hear the matter before passing any interim order.
The hearing took place on Monday while the Tribunal's order was made public on Friday. The petitioner's counsel on Monday had urged the bench to order a stay on tree felling on the grounds of irreversible damage that the work would cause to the Himalayan ecology. The bench took heed of the plea and directed the Centre and state government to not carry out tree felling till the next hearing. But, later, counsel for the environment ministry brought up the matter and sought to point out that the case had not been heard and permissions had been granted for tree felling.
The Tribunal's order thus stated that no interim order would be passed till the next hearing on March 20. The bench in its order stated, "At this juncture, we would appreciate if the project proponent restrains itself from felling of trees."
The plea had been filed by Citizens for Green Doon, and on February 28, NGT had issued notices to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Uttarakhand government and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change seeking their response.
NGT Speaks
Hearing a plea seeking a stay on Char Dham Highway widening project, which the petitioner said would harm Himalayan ecology, the NGT refused to stay the work till the next hearing on March 20.
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