The central government of India has revealed plans to build 825 km of all-weather roads in the northern state of Uttarakhand.
The all-weather road runs from Rishikesh to Janki Chati (Yamunotri), Gangotri, Gaurikund (Kedarnath), and Mana (Badrinath), including Tanakpur to Pithoragarh section of the Kailash-Mansarovar route in Uttarakhand.
Of the total, the government has granted approval for the construction of 671-km roads at a cost of approximately ₹120.72bn ($1.65bn).
The construction work on the project was initially targeted for completion by March last year said Indian Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
As reported in oneindia Nitin Gadkari said: “However, the scheduled date of completion has been delayed mainly due to litigation in the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court by Citizens for Green Doon.
“The Supreme Court vide order dated August 8, 2019 constituted a high-powered committee under the chairmanship of Professor Ravi Chopra to look into environmental and related issues. The matter is still sub judice.”
In December last year, the Indian government reached a $500m loan agreement with the World Bank to develop green, resilient and safe national highways in the states of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
The Green National Highways Corridors project will also enhance the capacity of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in mainstreaming safety and green technologies.
The project will support MoRTH to construct 783 km of highways in various locations by integrating safe and green technology designs such as local and marginal materials, industrial byproducts, and other bioengineering solutions.