Why in News?

Environmentalist Ravi Chopra resigned as the chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed High Powered Committee (HPC) to oversee the implementation of the Uttarakhand Chardham road widening project.

Key Points:

=> The reason for this resignation has been given as the lack of attention by the officials related to the project on the recommendations and suggestions of the committee.

=> It is worth noting that in the year 2019, this 25-member committee was constituted by the Supreme Court regarding the environmental aspects in the Chardham highway project.

=> This committee had recommended limiting the width of the roads to 5.5 meters in the Chardham project.

=> However, on December 14, 2021, the Supreme Court in its order allowed the width of the road to 10 meters in the strategically important Badrinath, Gangotri and Pithoragarh highways.