CharDham Project
2021 NOV 24
Preliminary >
Art and Culture > Miscellaneous > Tourism
Why in news?
- Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) has spoken of the need to balance national security concerns with environmental issues in the context of the Army’s request to expand the CharDham Project (CDP) roads leading to the Indo-China border.
About the project:
- It aims to provide all-weather connectivity to the four major shrines of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath (Uttarakhand).
- The project will be executed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH)
Role in National Security:
- This project can act as the strategic feeder roads which connect the India-China border with the Army camps in Dehradun and Meerut where missile bases and heavy machinery are located.
Environmental concerns:
- The project may destroy about 690 hectares of forests with 55,000 trees and evacuate an estimated 20 million cubic metres of soil.
- Ruthless harvesting or uprooting of vegetation in the widening of roads can prove to be perilous for the biodiversity and regional ecology.
PRELIMS QUESTION
Chardham road project aims to connect which of the following pilgrimage centers?
1. Yamunotri
2. Ujjain
3. Varanasi
4. Badrinath
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1,2 and 3 only
(b) 2,3 and 4 only
(c) 1 and 4 only
(d) 1,2,3 and 4
Answer