By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
A group of concerned citizens on Tuesday urged the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Uttarakhand government to scrap the proposed four-laning of the Rishikesh-Bhaniawala highway, alleging that the project would severely damage an ecologically sensitive elephant corridor in the Rajaji National Park.
The group appealed to the state government and NHAI to review the project after evaluating environmentally sustainable alternatives. It also announced peaceful protests outside the NHAI office on July 8 and said this year’s Harela festival would be observed as a “Black Harela” to protest large-scale tree felling in the state.
Addressing a press conference in Dehradun, environmental activists, legal experts and local residents warned that widening the highway through forest land would fragment wildlife habitats, increase human-elephant conflict and undermine the region’s ecological balance.
Environmentalist Ira Chauhan said the project should not be viewed merely as a road expansion exercise but as a decision with far-reaching consequences for one of Uttarakhand’s most crucial wildlife corridors. She stressed that development and conservation must go hand in hand and called for wider public consultation before irreversible decisions are taken.
Advocate Himanshu Arora raised legal concerns, alleging that large-scale tree felling appeared to have continued despite the issue being under judicial scrutiny. He said matters relating to the elephant corridor and forest diversion are pending before the Supreme Court, whose previous rulings have emphasised protection of forest land and wildlife corridors.
Rishikesh resident Dinesh Semwal questioned the necessity of the four-laning project, claiming the existing road rarely experiences traffic congestion. He warned that further fragmentation of forests would increase encounters between humans and elephants.
Social activist Anoop Nautiyal criticised the timing of large-scale tree felling during the monsoon, traditionally regarded as the season for plantation and ecological regeneration. He also expressed concern over the cumulative impact of repeated diversion of forest land for infrastructure projects across Uttarakhand.