BENGALURU: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) recommended complete rejection of the 164.44 km broad gauge Hubballi-Ankola Rail project that would have gone through the bio-diversity hot spots of Karnataka. They cite the extremely fragile ecosystem of the Western Ghats will not be able to sustain or buffer the impacts caused by the construction of the rail project.
In fact, successive state governments have been pushing for this project but have faced rejection from every statutory authority be it Central or state. In its second site inspection report — a copy of which is available with the The New Indian Express — the NTCA has said the project would have a major irreversible impact on the forest ecology, water resources, its drainage networks and the flora and fauna in the region. Further, the fragmentation of wildlife habitat, conservation of sacred groves and the impact on microclimate would be irrefutable. The railway track is likely to cause an irreversible impact on tigers, elephants and also on several endangered and endemic fauna.
The report was submitted by a committee comprising Dr Rajendra Garawad, AIGF, NTCA, Bengaluru, Dr Kaushik Bannerjee, Project Scientist, Wildlife Institute of India, and Dr R Gopinath, Jt Director (Wildlife), MoEFCC.
The scientists have, in fact, dug holes into the state government’s revised proposal for the need of this project. They opine, “The original rationale behind the project does not appear to be valid as of today since mining and export of iron ore from this region is almost nil. Existing rail and road networks are grossly under-utilized and are sufficient to meet the demands of limited ore transportation.”
Kulkarni adds, “NTCA which had already submitted its first report in March 2018 had not recommended the project. Despite this, during the 48th meeting of the standing committee of NBW, a committee comprising representatives of NTCA, WII and an official of the wildlife division of MoEF was formed and were asked to submit a site inspection report once again. They now have rejected the project lock, stock and barrel. Since the proposal is now pending with the state Board for Wildlife, I have petitioned the CM and the board requesting them to reject it once and for all.”