NEW DELHI: Will the Centre’s ambitious Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway impact dolphins, soft-shelled turtles, otters and gharials in the Beas and Kali Bein Conservation Reserves in Punjab? A panel of the Union environment ministry has sought comments from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) on the proposal and the mitigation measures of the project.
The project by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was considered by the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL). The proposal is for using 20.4 hectares of land for the construction of five bridges by the NHAI as part of the expressway. It is expected to reduce the distance between Katra and Delhi by nearly 150 km.
The proposal has been recommended by the Chief Wildlife Warden, the State Board for Wild Life, and the Punjab government. During the meeting, the Chief Wildlife Warden informed that three of the bridges will be built across Beas river and the other two across the Kali Bein river.
The panel was informed that the area is rich in dolphins, soft-shelled turtles, and otters and gharials have also been released in the conservation reserves and that a mitigation plan for the project has been prepared in consultation with the NHAI. While the committee was told that pillars of the bridges will not be laid in the river so that animal movement is not restricted, the committee suggested that the WII may be requested to provide comments on the proposal.
The state said the WII has carried out a dolphin survey recently. The project was recommended and the user agency was directed to implement the mitigation measures and structural measures proposed in the Wildlife Mitigation Plan and Wildlife Conservation Plan.