State government has accorded sanction for the diversion of 595 hectares of lush evergreen forests to make way for the controversial Hubballi-Ankola Railway Line. This will mean the axing of more than two lakh unique species of trees.
A day after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urged the public to increase forest cover to ensure bounteous rain, his government has accorded sanction for the diversion of 595 hectares of lush evergreen forests to make way for the controversial Hubballi-Ankola Railway Line. This will mean the axing of more than two lakh unique species of trees.
The Regional Empowered Committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on Monday, despite strong reservations from the Karnataka Forest Department (KFD), recommended clearance to the project provided the user agency—South Western Railways (SWR) fulfils a set of terms and conditions.
The REC, in its previous meeting on May 5, had sought opinion from the KFD and SWR over the project.
Bangalore Mirror had broken the story on KFD’s stand in its edition dated May 10. The KFD team had inspected the site and expressed concern over the project. After this, the REC sent the proposal back to the Karnataka government and SWR so that it could be resubmitted keeping in mind the present conditions. On Monday, while going through the submissions, the REC accorded permission provided the SWR fulfils some of the conditions. According to the minutes of the REC meeting, a copy of which is available with BM, the committee listed out both the positive and negative impacts of the project (see box).
Build underpasses for wildlife
Some of the conditions that the committee headed by Dr MRG Reddy, Additional PCCF (Central), came up with are worth noting for the ‘concern’ for wildlife. “The railways must try increasing the number of tunnels, from the envisaged 25 tunnels and viaducts. Besides, it should revise the mitigation plan in consultation with the KFD, including more number of underpasses. The alignment passes through Bedthi Conservation Reserve, Hornbill Conservation Reserve besides overlapping with the buffer zone area of the Kali Tiger Reserve and elephant corridors and SWR must submit appropriate proposal for consideration by the standing committee of National Board for Wildlife,” it said.
The committee also directed the KFD to submit a list of trees to be felled. It has directed that mandatory afforestation be taken up to compensate for the cutting of trees. The committee asks the SWR and KFD to prepare a scheme to take up compensatory afforestation.
The positives
• Savings on fuel and reduction of greenhouse gases (compared to road traffic)
• Economical means of transportation to local people
• Vital link for connecting the Eastern and Western coasts of India
• Big boost for development of North Karnataka
• Helps movement of materials, equipment and work force for projects like Seabird, Kaiga etc
The negatives
• Change in the land use pattern of the area
• Displacement of people and cutting large number of trees
• Impact on wildlife and their movement paths
• Risks due to landslides, mudslides and earthquakes
• Smuggling of timber and forest produce
• Loss of habitat for wildlife and effects of blasting on fauna
• Loss of carbon sequestration ability due to large scale vegetation clearance
• Man-animal conflict due to work force personnel trespassing inside the forest
• Generation of solid and liquid waste during operation phase of the project
Source : Bangalore Mirror
The Regional Empowered Committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on Monday, despite strong reservations from the Karnataka Forest Department (KFD), recommended clearance to the project provided the user agency—South Western Railways (SWR) fulfils a set of terms and conditions.
The REC, in its previous meeting on May 5, had sought opinion from the KFD and SWR over the project.
Bangalore Mirror had broken the story on KFD’s stand in its edition dated May 10. The KFD team had inspected the site and expressed concern over the project. After this, the REC sent the proposal back to the Karnataka government and SWR so that it could be resubmitted keeping in mind the present conditions. On Monday, while going through the submissions, the REC accorded permission provided the SWR fulfils some of the conditions. According to the minutes of the REC meeting, a copy of which is available with BM, the committee listed out both the positive and negative impacts of the project (see box).
Build underpasses for wildlife
Some of the conditions that the committee headed by Dr MRG Reddy, Additional PCCF (Central), came up with are worth noting for the ‘concern’ for wildlife. “The railways must try increasing the number of tunnels, from the envisaged 25 tunnels and viaducts. Besides, it should revise the mitigation plan in consultation with the KFD, including more number of underpasses. The alignment passes through Bedthi Conservation Reserve, Hornbill Conservation Reserve besides overlapping with the buffer zone area of the Kali Tiger Reserve and elephant corridors and SWR must submit appropriate proposal for consideration by the standing committee of National Board for Wildlife,” it said.
The committee also directed the KFD to submit a list of trees to be felled. It has directed that mandatory afforestation be taken up to compensate for the cutting of trees. The committee asks the SWR and KFD to prepare a scheme to take up compensatory afforestation.
The positives
• Savings on fuel and reduction of greenhouse gases (compared to road traffic)
• Economical means of transportation to local people
• Vital link for connecting the Eastern and Western coasts of India
• Big boost for development of North Karnataka
• Helps movement of materials, equipment and work force for projects like Seabird, Kaiga etc
The negatives
• Change in the land use pattern of the area
• Displacement of people and cutting large number of trees
• Impact on wildlife and their movement paths
• Risks due to landslides, mudslides and earthquakes
• Smuggling of timber and forest produce
• Loss of habitat for wildlife and effects of blasting on fauna
• Loss of carbon sequestration ability due to large scale vegetation clearance
• Man-animal conflict due to work force personnel trespassing inside the forest
• Generation of solid and liquid waste during operation phase of the project
Source : Bangalore Mirror
