BENGALURU: Even as wildlife activists allege that road widening work is taking place on a 4km stretch inside Male Mahadeshwara (MM Hills) Wildlife Sanctuary, the state forest department, while denying it, said the project has been completely withdrawn and whatever work is on is within the purview of forest laws.
Last October, the road widening project between Hanur and Rampura (which was in the forest limits) had been stopped after protests. “However, the Public Works Department (PWD) has once again quietly taken up the project with the district forest officials caught napping,” activists claimed.
The PWD had taken up the road widening project on a 4.5km road from Hanur to Ramapura via Ajjipura inside the protected area within the Hanur buffer zone. Bowing to pressure from various quarters, then Deputy Conservator of Forests of MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, V Yedukondalu, had issued notice to PWD officials and directed them to stop this project. However, by the time the forest department swung into action, 50% of the works had been completed, activists alleged.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, the DCF said, no road widening is being done inside the Protected Area (PA) as claimed by activists. “We managed to convince both the PWD and local politicians not to go for road widening. Whatever work is going on is repair work and that too within the purview of law. We have asked them to restrict to existing limit, which is 3.75m road within the forest area. But outside the forest, the road width is 5m.”
An activist said, “The DCF is going by the PWD assurance and claiming they will not widen this road. The construction works and the widened road will lead to reduced animal movement and frequent road kills.”
The DCF added, “No asphalting work or soil work is being done. Whatever is happening is with permission. We have stopped the widening project. Further, for the first time, we have initiated installation of scientific obstacles (road humps) which will restrict the speed limit of vehicles to 30 kmph. There will be no effect on wildlife movement.”