Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has stepped in to halt tree felling on a stretch of the Dehradun-Rishikesh road project after residents raised strong objections to the plan.
What triggered the protests
The controversy centres on the Rishikesh-Bhaniyawala four-lane project, part of the larger Dehradun-Rishikesh four/six-lane corridor. Locals had been protesting for close to a week against the felling of trees along the Saat Mod stretch in Dehradun, arguing that the cutting would damage the area's green cover and disturb the local environment. The sustained public outcry eventually forced the state government to respond directly.
What CM Dhami has ordered
Taking serious note of the concerns, Dhami has ordered an immediate halt to tree felling on the affected stretch. He has also directed the state's chief secretary to hold broader consultations on the matter before any further work proceeds, signalling that the government wants a wider discussion on the project before construction resumes.
What happens next
With tree felling paused, attention now shifts to how the chief secretary's consultations play out and whether the alignment or execution plan for the Rishikesh-Bhaniyawala stretch will be revised. The broader Dehradun-Rishikesh road upgrade is meant to ease traffic on one of Uttarakhand's busiest routes, connecting the state capital to the pilgrim town of Rishikesh.
