Context: The chairman of a Supreme Court-appointed expert committee has alleged violations of the court orders in the execution of the Chardham road project — a 900-km, ₹12,000-crore enterprise to connect pilgrimage spots in Uttarakhand.

• A controversial aspect was the proposed width of the two-line highways envisaged.
• The SC committee was divided over the width with one set of members saying it only be 5.5-metre-wide and another plumbing for a higher road width.

Char Dham National Highway

• It is an under construction two-lane express National Highway with a minimum width of 10 metres in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.
• It will complement the under construction Char Dham Railway by connecting the four holy places in Uttarakhand states namely Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.
• The project includes 900 km national highways which will connect whole of Uttarakhand state
• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH) is also the key coordinator of the Chardham project. Prior to this, the government had sanctioned a road width of 10-12 metres.
• The MoRTH has allowed the 700 km-road projects to continue with the old 10-metre width and only in the remaining 200 km roads would the new narrow width apply.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/chairman-of-chardham-committee-alleges-violations-of-supreme-court-orders/article32766322.ece?homepage=true

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