The committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal inspected the Kotdwar and Pauri- Srinagar bypass alternate road near Bubakhal where its construction was stopped by the tribunal. The committee comprises by MoEF officer Prachi Gangwar, Garhwal divisional forest officer Rajmani Pandey, DFOs Ashish Tripathi, Amit Verma, Pauri district magistrate Chandresh Kumar and SDM Pl Shah .

After inspecting the bypass road, the committee members enquired with the locals regarding the construction of road and deforestation but the applicant who filed the application in the NGT could not be present during the inspection in spite of being told to do so. The committee could not reach a conclusion regarding its final report. The committee has said that the applicant should be given one more chance in the inspection to be held in the second week of February.It is pertinent to mention that the alternate bypass road was sanctioned to link Kotdwar highway to Pauri-Srinagar national highway from Bubakhal through Gadoli few years back to prevent vehicular congestion on Pauri highway.

The construction was started and nearly half of it was completed when Gadoli Mariyo resident Subir Chowfin filed an application in the NGT alleging that the Public Works Department had damaged forests while constructing the road.

The NGT directed the PWD to stop the construction and constituted a committee under the Pauri DM to inspect the site and submit its report. Sub divisional magistrate Pl Shah told The Pioneer that locals had been questioned on the issue and due to the applicant’s absence he had been given one chance to appear before the committee during the inspection slated to be conducted in the second week of February. If the applicant fails to turn up, the committee will submit its final report to the tribunal.