Overview
- Uttarakhand has approved widening of roughly 20–20.6 km between Jhala and Bhaironghati on the Char Dham/Gangotri route.
- A November 12 letter from the state head of forest forces called the project strategically important and cited Section 1A(2)(c) of the amended Forest Act to proceed without standard forest clearance.
- The forest department estimated a diversion of 41.92 hectares of forest land that includes old-growth Deodar trees.
- Reports from locals put about 6,000 trees marked for felling, while activists claim the number is at least 10,000.
- Villagers, environmentalists and RSS volunteers in Harsil tied protective threads to trees as Murli Manohar Joshi and RSS leader Krishna Gopal sent video support, and campaigners urged a narrower six-metre design to reduce damage.