Overview
- Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered the suspension of tree‑felling, saying on Saturday that cutting will not resume until a consensus is reached through fresh consultations with stakeholders.
- The National Highways plan would widen about 19–20 kilometres near Dehradun and has been reported to require removal of roughly 3,000 to 4,369 trees for the four‑lane Bhaniyawala–Rishikesh road.
- Residents, students, environmental groups and civil society staged days of protests at the Saat Mod site, and work had proceeded under police protection during the demonstrations.
- Officials and the NHAI say the project has statutory and environmental clearances and court directions and includes mitigation such as a roughly 3.5 km elephant underpass, multiple wildlife culverts, and funds and land set aside for compensatory afforestation.
- The suspension starts a formal review process that will include experts and locals and could lead to an alternative alignment or stronger safeguards before work restarts while political and legal scrutiny continues.