Gadkari reviews progress on Chardham all-weather road project

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Friday reviewed the Chardham all-weather road project in Uttarakhand and called for expeditious disposal of all pending issues and for completing land acquisition at the earliest.

In a meeting via video conference, he emphasised that the project is of great national importance and should be handled from that perspective by all concerned.

Gadkari requested Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to personally review issues pending at the level of state government especially those related to the environment, land acquisition etc. and asked for strict monitoring and cautioned against deliberate delays.

The meeting was attended by Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways Gen (retd) V K Singh and the state's ministers of environment and forest and PWD.

Speaking on the occasion, Javadekar stressed upon taking up of project implementation by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways based on the recommendations of the high powered committee.

He assured all required cooperation from the Ministry for early completion of the project.

Javadekar informed that the Zonal Master Plan(ZMP) for the Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone, prepared by the Government of Uttarakhand and appraised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, has been approved on July 16, 2020.

"The ZMP is based on watershed approach and includes governance in the area of forest and wildlife, watershed management, irrigation, energy, tourism, public health and station, road infrastructure, etc," said a release by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

It was further decided that Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change will review the pending issues related to environment and forest clearances with the officials of the Road Transport Ministry and state government departments.

The Chief Minister requested Gadkari to consider a proposal being worked by the state government for National Highway connectivity to Gairsain, the summer capital of Uttarakhand.

He said DPR is being prepared for the same. Gadkari assured that it will be considered expeditiously as soon as it is received in his Office.

"The Chardham Project proposes to connect Yamnotri, Gangotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath which host Chardham Yatra in the State of Uttarakhand. The all-weather Chardham Road has in all 53 projects of 826 km length, involving an investment of Rs 12000 crore," the release said.

( With inputs from ANI )