Former judge AK Sikri has been appointed by the Supreme Court to lead the High Powered Committee for determining the effects of the Chardham project on the entire Himalayan valley on Friday, Mar 11.
DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant asked Professor Ravi Chopra to resign from his position as chairperson of the Chardham committee after he wrote a letter in January expressing his desire to resign.
Attorney General Venugopal argued that since Justice (retd) Sikri had already been appointed by the Supreme Court to oversee environmental concerns regarding the Chardham project, it would be better for him to be named chairperson. The bench agreed and appointed Justice (retd) Sikri as chairperson. Chopra was appointed as the chairperson of the committee on August 8th, 2019 by the Supreme Court, and though it had not discussed the appointment with Justice (retd) Sikri, it will do so after he is appointed. According to the Supreme Court, on December 14th last year, a double-lane widening of the strategic Chardham highway project in Uttarakhand was allowed since our country’s security concerns may change over time and that recently there were serious national security challenges. In performing the judicial review, we cannot second guess the infrastructure needs of the armed forces,” said the court while setting up an oversight committee headed by Justice (retd) Sikri who will report directly to them on a 900-km project spanning up to the Chinese border.
