CH NEWS, MANGALURU
The plan to cut down a large number of trees for the widening of National Highway-73 (NH-73), which passes through the ‘Charmadi Ghat’ in the Western Ghats, which is considered a landslide-prone area, has sparked a huge controversy. Environmentalists have expressed their anger over the forest department’s approval of the project without conducting a proper geological and landslide study and without examining the impact on the tiger corridor.
The National Highways Division of the Public Works Department (PWD) has proposed to acquire 38.70 acres of forest land for widening the existing road on the main 11.2-km stretch of Charmadi Ghat into a two-lane road with paved shoulders.
Explaining this, the Executive Engineer of the National Highways Department said, the road in the Charmadi Ghat section is very narrow and has sharp turns. The traffic here is increasing day by day. The current width and design of the road are not adequate for the movement of heavy goods vehicles. Due to this, the public is facing heavy traffic congestion, delays and accidents, defending the widening project.
However, the Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), who inspected the area of the project, clearly mentioned that the area is part of the ‘Tiger Corridor’. Out of the road area, about 5.33 km of forest land and 1.75 km of non-forest land directly fall within the tiger corridor, they said in their report.
Forest Force Chief and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Meenakshi Negi recommended sending the project to the central government for further statutory approvals. While the letter addresses some of the concerns raised by the DCF, the absence of any reference to the submission or review of a ‘wildlife mitigation plan’ or ‘landslide mitigation plan’ has angered environmentalists.
Environmentalist M Vivek, who had written to the Forest Department in June against the pace of the project, has again expressed deep concern over the department’s approval of the project despite its legal and technical shortcomings. The area is home to not only tigers and elephants, but also a small population of extremely rare and endangered Lion-Tailed Macaques. As many as 7,540 trees belonging to 52 different species are being cut for the project.
