BHUBANESWAR: In a surprising move, the Odisha government has asked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to prepare terms of reference (ToR) for construction of a bridge over Chilika, Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon, which was once objected by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
In a recent meeting chaired by chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, the NHAI was asked to move the proposal for approval of ToR for the bridge from Satapada to Gopalpur over Chilika as part of the coastal highway under Bharatmala Pariyojana.
“Prior to the submission of the proposal, if required, the NHAI can make arrangements for a field visit of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the MoEF&CC,” said the meeting. Wetland land cannot be used for non-wetland use. As per Clause 4 of the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, conversion for non-wetland uses including encroachment of any kind is prohibited.
In 2021, a four-km-long scaffold initially proposed in the ToR by NHAI was dropped after the EAC disapproved it following objections from ecologists and conversationalists. The proposed longest extension after the Mahanadi span was envisaged as an observatory point to watch Chilika’s resplendence, it was struck off from the project after EAC objection.
Environmentalists fear the ‘insensitive’ move would bring disaster for the eco-sensitive Chilika lagoon, home to rare Irrawaddy dolphins, several threatened species of plants and animals and the largest wintering ground for migratory birds.
Secretary of Odisha Environmental Society Prof JK Panigrahi wondered why the state government is insistent on a bridge or a similar structure over the lake that was declared as the first Ramsar site of India. The move would damage its fragile ecosystem.
“Any pressure on the ecosystem by way of massive construction will disturb its subtle balance and impact its biodiversity as well as productivity,” he pointed out.
Eight years since the project was first mooted, the ambitious coastal highway under Bharatmala Pariyojana has not made much headway due to local protests and environmental concerns. NHAI sources said the ToR will be submitted after modification of the earlier alignment and design of the bridge. Repeated change of alignment of the highway has delayed the project.
This is for the fourth time the alignment will be changed, sources added. Initially, the Rs 8,000 crore highway was proposed to be constructed from Gopalpur to Digha through ecologically sensitive Chilika, Balukhand wildlife sanctuary, Bhitarkanika sanctuary and some of the important Olive Ridley turtle nesting sites.
Its length was reduced from 451 km to 382 km as per the revised alignment, skipping the eco-sensitive areas. Both the NHAI and the state government had agreed the coastal highway would start from Tangi (Rameswar) and end at Digha passing through Brahmagiri, Puri, Konark, Astarang, Nuagaon, Paradip Port, Ratanpur, and Dhamra.