BHUBANESWAR: The expert appraisal committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has approved the proposed six-lane Capital Region Ring Road (CRRR)’s Gobindpur-Tangi stretch with at least 1 km passing through the core zone of Kapilash wildlife sanctuary, raising concern among conservationists.
Kapilash is a major elephant habitat and at the same time, a flash-point for man-animal conflict.
Sources said the EAC in its meeting held on May 14 and 15 recommended the grant of environmental clearance for ‘construction of the Gobindpur-Tangi stretch’ of the 111 km CRRR to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Bharatmala scheme. The project seeks to link Rameswar in Khurda to Tangi under Cuttack district.
The stretch from Gobindpur village in Dhenkanal to Bandalo toll plaza near Tangi in Cuttack under CRRR will have a total length of about 40.33 km. However, at least 1 km of the alignment of the road project will pass through Kapilash wildlife sanctuary in Dhenkanal. The proposed alignment will also pass through 45 waterbodies including five canals, nine ponds and 31 nullahs.
The Gobindpur-Tangi stretch of the road will require about 4,180 hectare area for implementation of which approximately 146.90 hectare will be forest area, while 97.95 hectares will be water body and 625.26 hectare have tree cover (all under tree). Diversion of around 39 hectare forest land will also be required.
The EAC, sources said, has asked the NHAI to follow the recommendation of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), based on the study of the consultancy agency CEMC Bhubaneswar, that suggests construction of two elephant underpasses, one of about 1.65 km length and the other of 850 metre length with a minimum height of about 10 metre from the ground level, for easy movement of the jumbos. It has also proposed 56 culverts for movement of smaller animals in the project stretch which has remained one of the hotspots of human-wildlife conflict in the state.
The NHAI has plans to take up the long-pending `6,653 crore project in two packages - package-I includes a 71 km stretch from Rameswar to Gobindpur six-lane road at an investment of about `4,026 crore and package-II includes 40 km from Gobindpur to Tangi at a cost of about `2,287 crore. The six-lane expressway will allow vehicles on NH-16 to bypass Khordha town, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack city and ease traffic congestion.
However, considering sensitivity of the protected area, wildlife experts have asked the government to explore alternatives to ensure Kapilash remains unaffected by the project. Retired IFS officer Suresh Kumar Mishra said any project taken up without careful deliberation could worsen human-wildlife conflict in the region as the sanctuary, spread over 125 sq km area, is already very small and elephant population remains scattered over its landscape.
“While the ring road project holds significance, we should also keep in mind that it cannot be done at the expense of precious forest land. Alternative alignment should be explored,” he said.