BHUBANESWAR : The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ (MoRTH) has approved the proposed alignment of a two-lane national highway connectivity over Chilika lagoon, a move which may jeopardise biodiversity of the largest brackish water lake of Asia.
Sources said, the MoRTH has planned the 7.8-km connectivity with a right of way (RoW) of 75-metre over the wetland which is the missing link of Gopalpur-Satpada highway (NH-516A) under Krushnaprasad block in Puri district.
Two bridges spanning 3.55-km are proposed to be built over the lake as part of the connectivity, subject to environmental clearance and approval of the state government. The alignment approval committee (AAC) of the ministry has already cleared it along with the land acquisition plan, the sources said.
The approval, however, came nearly six months after Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced the plan at a poll rally in Brahmagiri Assembly constituency during the last general elections in May. Gadkari had assured that the bridge would be built under Bharatmala project without hampering marine ecosystem.
The two-lane planned over Chilika, a designated Ramsar site, has drawn sharp criticism from environmentalists and conservationists who fear the lake’s fragile ecosystem and its rich biodiversity might face negative consequences of the project. Expressing grave concerns, secretary of Odisha Environmental Society Jayakrushna Panigrahi said the idea to build highway and bridges over Chilika lagoon is highly insensitive as it will destroy the wetland biodiversity and cause irreparable harm to the lake’s unique flora and fauna.
Enviromentalists oppose Chilika highway plan
“Coastal ecosystems are normally fragile and already facing enhanced stress from landward and seaward sides in view of climate change. As such, the anthropogenic stress are on the rise and construction of such a highway through the water body would certainly add pressure on the coastal ecosystem,” he said.
Noted environmentalist and Magsaysay awardee Rajendra Singh said this plan disregards India’s commitments under international treaties like the Ramsar Convention and the convention on biological diversity.
“If allowed, it will be a blatant violation of environmental ethics and projects like this set a dangerous precedent for other ecologically sensitive zones. The construction process which involves dredging, land-filling and use of heavy machinery, could lead to long-term ecological degradation. Such eco-encroachment on the pretext of development must stop,” said Singh.
Meanwhile, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has asked Ghaziabad-based Chaitanya Projects Consultancy Pvt Ltd, the agency entrusted for project report, to submit the drone survey along with the Project Appraisal and Technical Scrutiny Committee (PATSC) proposal by December 11 for further action.
“The project is at a nascent stage. Only its alignment has been approved. The NHAI will seek all statutory clearances, including the environmental clearance before proceeding further for detailed project report and final approval,” a senior NHAI official told TNIE.