Panaji: Despite the massive opposition to the double tracking of railway line, the National Board of Wildlife has finally recommended the proposal for railway track doubling from Tinaighat-Castlerock at Karnataka to Caranzol in Goa with mitigation measures.
Union Minister for Environment Prakash Javdekar tweeted “Happy to inform that in its 60th meeting NBWL has recommended the proposal for Tinaighat-Castlerock-Caranzol Railway doubling of South Western Railways, Karnataka with certain mitigation measures as advised by the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. #conservation #wildlife”.
The National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) had in November postponed a decision on the proposed railway track doubling from Tinaighat-Castlerock at Karnataka to Caranzol in Goa. The project will pass through the forested covers of Dandeli-Anshi tiger reserve, Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary, and Mollem National Park.
In the NBWL’s meeting held in July, the decision was deferred due to Karnataka’s Chief Wildlife Warden pointing out that the project would pass through a tiger reserve site. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was asked to look into the matter and suggest measures accordingly.
NTCA had entrusted the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, to conduct a thorough study and recommend measures to minimize the project’s impact on the protected areas. The report will be due in two months. WII has to submit the report within two months.
A total of 138.89 hectares (ha) of forest land has been proposed to come under the South Western Railway’s project, of which 128.294 ha passes through the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary. This has led to opposition parties, ex-ministers, environmental activists, and several concerned locals to protest against the project. While the protestors claim that the project would favor industrialists, the state government has denied all such claims.