The construction of the bypass around Chatra town on NH-22( old NH -99) in Jharkhand has come to a halt. The entire project is understood to be in limbo.

The state government’s Hazaribagh-based National Highway Division of the Road Construction Department planned to build a four-lane road with a divided carriageway and a formation width of 27 m (2 x 7 m carriageway + 2 x 2.5 m paved shoulder + 5 m earthen shoulder). The plan was meant to address the concerns of commuters who faced traffic congestion on a daily basis.

The halt in construction of this bypass road in Chatra is the outcome of the stay order passed by the Jharkhand High Court to safeguard the environment on September 4, 2026.

In fact, the High Court had stayed the felling of 13,681 trees for the proposed Chatra town bypass road.

The court’s response was in response to a writ petition filed by Suresh Sao which stated that 300 trees belonging to him were proposed to be cut for construction of a bypass of Chatra town.

The Court of Justice Ananda Sen had sought more details from the state and central govts.
 

Earlier, the court was informed that 13,681 trees have been proposed to be felled for the bypass road.

The high court in its order stated that trees cannot be cut for the sake of development. Quoting it as “developmental disasters”, the judge observed that the time has come to consider travelling a few miles more rather than allowing indiscriminate felling of full grown trees in large scale.

The court further ordered that as an interim measure, considering the large number of trees which have been identified for the project of construction of the bypass of Chatra town, none of the trees would be cut down till further orders of the court.

However, it will be open for the agencies to revisit the issue of re-alignment of the road, the court held.

Authorities have been given the liberty to review the current road alignment and explore alternative routes to minimize ecological damage.

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways have also been given the liberty to review the current road alignment and explore alternative routes to minimize ecological damage. 

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways have also been given the liberty to review the current road alignment and explore alternative routes to minimise ecological damage.