The Uttarakhand Cabinet has opposed a central gazette notification declaring a 4,171.59 km stretch between Gomukh and Uttarkashi as eco-sensitive zone, saying it would severely affect development in the region.

It also authorised Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to take up the issue with the Centre, official sources said on Tuesday.

At a meeting chaired by Bahuguna on Monday, the Cabinet decided to seek modifications in the gazette notification issued by the Centre maintaining that the document in its present form would bring development activities in the region to a halt, sources said.

The Cabinet authorised the Chief Minister to take up the issue with UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the Forest and Environment Ministry, saying the notification went against the interests of the state, they added.

The Cabinet said that the area between Gomukh and Uttarkashi on either side of the Bahgirathi river was very important for strategic reasons, as it was close to Uttarakhand’s border with China.

The state government will prepare a detailed report on the problems arising from the notification and seek modifications by the Centre, Bahuguna said after the meeting.

“Enviromental protection and development should go hand in hand. We will meet our central leaders and share with them our reservations about the gazette notification declaring the area as an eco-sensitive zone,” he was quoted as saying by the sources.