SC clears metalling of 11.5-km Laldhang-Chillarkhal road project through Rajaji National Park

NEW DELHI: (Feb 12) The Supreme Court on Thursday modified its earlier stay order and allowed metalling of the 11.5-km Laldhang-Chillarkhal road in Uttarakhand to benefit thousands of people of the state's 18 remote villages.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, however, refused to allow plying of commercial vehicles on the road which includes an ecologically sensitive 4.5-km stretch from Chamaria bend to Siggadi Sot area and is the only functional wildlife corridor connecting Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve and Rajaji Tiger Reserve.

"The people of remote villages are entitled to the benefit of developments happening in the country," the bench said as it modified its January 11, 2023 order putting a stay on the road project for violation of environmental norms.