The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked whether it would be justified for it to overlook the country’s defence interests while considering environmental concerns raised over the Centre’s plea to widen a highway in Uttarakhand, referring to “recent events” amid rising border tensions with China.

The government has urged the apex court to modify a September 2020 order restricting the width of each lane of the under-construction four-lane Char Dham National Highway in Uttarakhand from 5.5 metres to 10 metres, citing defence preparedness. The plea has been challenged in the court by the NGO Citizens for Green Doon over environment concerns.

The 900km upcoming Char Dham National Highway links the pilgrim sites of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath in Uttarakhand besides providing logistical support to the defence ministry for bolstering border preparedness.

A bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Vikram Nath asked senior advocate Colin Gonzalves, appearing for the NGO: “We cannot deny the fact that at such a height, the security of the nation is certainly at stake. Can the highest constitutional court say that, no we will override the defence needs, particularly in the face of recent events? Can we say that environment will triumph over the defence of the nation? Or we say that defence concerns be taken care of so that environmental degradation does not take place?”

The court did not specify which “recent events” it was referring to. The highway also passes through areas near the China border. On September 30, close to 100 soldiers of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army were reported to have transgressed the Line of Actual Control in the Barahoti sector of Uttarakhand and spent a few hours on Indian territory before returning.

India is locked in a border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh for over a year and the neighbouring country’s soldiers have also intruded into Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh.

Citizens for Green Doon has opposed the Centre’s plea to widen the highway on the ground of irreparable ecological imbalance and massive damage to the Himalaya. During Tuesday’s hearing, Justice Chandrachud said: “All development has to be sustainable and there is no doubt about it. But sustainable development has to be balanced with defence interests. We cannot really deny the fact that we are really in a terrain and high altitude where the defence of the nation is extremely important. Can we therefore say we will override the concerns of the armed forces or defence?”

Gonzalves pointed out that various expert committees had cautioned against any damage to the area and that this year alone there had been 16 landslides. The lawyer argued that the Himalaya would not be able to withstand the degradation of the environment and would collapse.

Attorney-general K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the defence ministry, had said the highway expansion was crucial to strengthening the country’s defence preparedness.

“There is a need for armed forces vehicles, rocket launchers, etc, to travel on these roads and all this was not taken into account…,” Venugopal had said.