Veteran environmentalist Ravi Chopra has resigned as Chairman and member of the Supreme Court’s High Powered Committee (HPC) for the Char Dham project. His belief that the HPC could protect this fragile (Himalayan) ecology has been shattered. The Supreme Court on December 14 allowed double-lane widening of roads for the project in view of “security concerns.”
The Chopra (75 years) was assigned the chairmanship of the HPC in September 2019 to oversee all-weather road widening project in Char Dham circuit. The Char Dham Road Project envisages widening of roads up to 10 metres to improve the accessibility and provide all-weather connectivity to the Char Dham (Four shrines) circuit : Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand.