BENGALURU: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai here on Sunday turned down various road and rail infrastructure projects proposed by his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan, saying the projects would adversely affect ecologically sensitive areas and wildlife sanctuaries on the Karnataka side.
Bommai and Vijayan held a bilateral as decided at the Southern Region Council meeting convened by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Thiruvananthapuram recently. “The Kerala government sought our cooperation for its various railway projects, including the Kanhangad-Kaniyoor rail line, and other highway projects.
The proposed railway line will have a 40 km route in Kerala and 31 km in Karnataka. But the project will not benefit Karnataka. Besides, it will pass through some of the most ecologically sensitive and biologically diverse areas of the Western Ghats. The Kerala chief minister was clearly told that it was not possible for us to extend cooperation for this project,” Bommai told reporters after the meeting.
He said Vijayan also brought up the old proposal of Thalassery-Mysore railway line and was again told strictly that it was not possible to give permission as the proposed rail route would pass through Bandipur and Nagarhole National Parks and would cause great damage to the flora and fauna.
Bommai said he flatly rejected a proposal to construct an underground rail tunnel on the route, as that too would damage the environment during the course of the construction. Bommai said, “The Kerala CM sought permission to increase the number of night buses passing through the Bandipur National Park from two to four. But we said no.”
He said Vijayan also told him that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has proposed a new alignment touching National Highway H-73 that will not pass through any eco-sensitive areas.
LET NHAI GIVE THE PROPOSAL FIRST: BOMMAI
“But we don’t know what the NHAI proposal is. Let NHAI give us a proposal. We will not allow any project in eco-sensitive zones, be it Nagarhole or Bandipur,” Bommai said. But a statement from the Kerala Chief Minister’s Office stated that both states will together request NHAI to implement the alignments from Tholpetti to Purakkattiri and Sultan Batheri to Malappuram as part of the Mysore Malappuram Economic Corridor project as an alternative to the NH 766, passing through the tiger reserve. It also stated that Bommai agreed to examine the proposed Kanhangad-Panathur-Kaniyoor railway line project, which will connect north Kerala and south Karnataka, and also seriously consider providing the necessary financial assistance.