Save Uttarakhand's Green Legacy: Sandeep Dikshit's Plea to CM

Sandeep Dikshit, ex-Congress MP, implores Uttarakhand CM to halt the deforestation in Saat Mod for a highway project. He highlights the ecological and cultural significance of the area, urging focus on sustainable development and modern engineering solutions to preserve the environment and maintain the state's identity.

In a strongly-worded open letter, Sandeep Dikshit, a former Congress MP and Chairperson of Rachnatmak Congress, has urged Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to immediately suspend tree-felling activities in the Saat Mod forest area. The deforestation is taking place as part of the Bhaniyawala-Rishikesh highway widening project, crucial for connectivity between Dehradun and Rishikesh.

Dikshit raised alarms over the environmental repercussions, emphasizing that the Saat Mod area is ecologically sensitive. He lamented that authorities have allowed thousands of trees to be cleared, threatening wildlife corridors near the Rajaji Tiger Reserve. 'This location plays a pivotal role in the migration routes of elephants and other wildlife,’ Dikshit remarked.

Highlighting Uttarakhand's heritage, Dikshit critiqued the government’s development model, arguing it sacrifices sacred forests for road expansion. He questioned the silence of the current generation, whose forebears famously defended forests in historical conservation movements like the Chipko Movement. Dikshit accused the state of redirecting funds from essential services such as healthcare and education to projects that diminish Uttarakhand's forest cover, calling instead for sustainable, citizen-focused development strategies.