BENGALURU: The standing committee for the State Wildlife Board on Wednesday approved the proposals submitted by the NHAI to execute the greenfield NH-75—a 100-km road work connecting Kushalanagar to Mysuru—in four stages. For this, the NHAI has sought around 54 hectares in the eco-sensitive zone of Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary and in the buffer zone of Nagarhole Tiger Reserve.
The committee also cleared the proposal of PWD to widen the existing road to the Sharavathi Lion Tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary for the benefit of dwellers inside the patch.
“The two proposals were cleared at the board meeting chaired by Forest Minister Eshwar B Khandre. They will now go to the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife for clearance as it involves wildlife sanctuaries and tiger reserves. A closer look at the Sharavathi road works shows that it is part of the big picture of the pumped storage project,” a source told TNIE.
Khandre agreed to recommend for the release of 0.976 ha of forest area in Sharavathi valley to National Wildlife Board. He said the applications were made on the Parivesh portal in September, and will now be placed before National Board for Wildlife Standing Committee.