Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - Part II : Actionable points for the WGEA : 2.10 Transport :

Opinion
       07/12/2018
                 1593.

Sub : Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - Part II : Actionable points for the WGEA : 2.10 Transport :

Ref : 2.10 Transport :
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2.10 Transport :-

Transport infrastructure is key to the connection of different parts of the country, to enable a balanced regional development, for developing a communications network and to promote intra- and inter-state commerce and industry. In the case of the Western Ghats, the long western coastline and the need for connecting this to the hinterland of the peninsula is obviously an important infrastructural imperative. Presently, only the Palghat Gap provides a passage between the coast and the hinterland through the plains. However, roads, railways, and highways passing through the hilly terrain of Western Ghat region have been one of the key instruments of change affecting its ecological status. The Panel notes that the rapidly rising demand for transport infrastructure has been of serious concern, given the impacts that they have on the forest, biodiversity and wildlife of the Western Ghat region.

2.10.1 - Issues of Concern :

Roads and railway lines also bring in their wake linear development of human settlements and other forms of land-use change. In many cases, such linear development is more harmful to the ecology as compared to the direct impact of the transport project itself. The development of transport infrastructure is of great concern to ecological and biodiversity hot spots as they fragment habitats and cause biodiversity loss. Roads passing through hilly terrain involve considerable blasting and cutting of rock/soil along the slopes.

Apart from immediate concerns of disturbance to the natural habitat, this increases the risk of landslides during periods of heavy rainfall as has occurred commonly at several places in the Western Ghats, a good example being the Mettupalayam to Udhagamandalam road in the Nilgiris that has witnessed frequent landslides. At the same time, the steep cuts along roads across hilly terrain make it impossible for larger animals such as elephant to get across; typically their movements are restricted to narrow passages along stream or river courses or even completely broken. Road kills of animals is a commonly observable phenomenon along road in the ghats, especially those that go through flat terrain thereby allowing vehicles to move at high speed. Permanent lighting on roads, honking, the speed of vehicles, accidents, and disturbance to the animal life in the forests are other serious issues.

Road construction is under way not only across the Western Ghats but also along the crest-line, thus dissecting wildlife corridors, and isolating the already small patches of forests and wilderness. There are again constant demands for new roads in the region. Many more projects are on the anvil and thus require serious attention given their potential impacts.

Paranjpye (2011, pp 14-17) notes that while in the Nineties, the number of roads cutting across the Northern Western Ghats was around thirteen, the number in 2011 was twenty-one. (Box 11 ) This list is not exhaustive but indicative of the road development in the region. This number includes the four-lane Express Highway connecting Pune and Mumbai as well as the highway under construction between Nashik and Mumbai. Paranjpye (2011) notes that the construction of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway has resulted in irreparable and irreversible damage to the proposed Fr. Santapau Wildlife Sanctuary near Lonavala. In the early 1990s, he reflects ‚a road meant the development of towns and villages which often developed at the intersection of roads and became an outlet for the forest produce, timber, minerals, etc. However, the trend today is that these areas sandwiched between the three metropolitan (Pune, Mumbai and Nashik) areas are slowly falling prey to land grab for large scale industrialisation and the urban crawl, which wipe out entire patches of forests at a very rapid pace.‛

The Konkan Railway, completed in 2001/2002 is one such contested space of environment versus development, and impacts on coastal versus forest ecology. The Railway traverses through 4 of the 6 states of the Western Ghats and many of its districts. The Railway has had a number of impacts, both on forest and coastal ecology, more on the latter because of its alignment and was much fought against in the state of Goa as it was expected to have, and has had, enormous impacts on coastal ecology, especially on mangrove forests, swamps and khazan lands. A number of track maintenance problems and collapse of tunnels have been observed, along with frequent incidents of landslides and slippages blocking the track. The Railway has involved diversion of forest land as it crossed parts of the Western Ghats as documented by Ranade (2009).

Similarly, the number of major roads in the southern Western Ghats have also resulted in ecological problems. For instance, the highways from Mysore through the Protected Areas of Nagarahole, Bandipur, Mudumalai and Wynaad in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala witness heavy traffic with resulting disturbance to wildlife (Vidya and Thupil 2010). In 2010 the Karnataka High Court imposed a ban on movement of traffic across these highways during the night, an order that has been contested by traders from Kerala. The Tenkasi-Kollam railway line and the highway across the Shencottah Gap in southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala has now completely cut off the movement of elephants between the north (Srivilliputhur-Ranni-Konni Divisions) and the south (the Kalakkad-Mundanthurai and Neyyar Reserves), isolating the relatively smaller population in the south.

There have been a number of recent demands for more railway lines through the southern Western Ghats. These include the proposed Hubli-Ankola line, the Talguppa-Honnavar line, the Mysore-Kannur line, the Chamarajnagar-Satyamangalam line, and a line to Sabarimalai. The proposed Chamarajnagar-Satyamangalam line would pass through the forests of Satyamangalam Forest Division, the steep slopes of the Talamalai plateau and through the Moyar River Valley, a major stronghold of the elephant. The potential for train accidents involving elephants would be very high. The line would also effectively slice through the only connection between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats. For the present, clearance has not been provided for this railway line on the basis of the scientific evidence.

2.10.2 - Box 11: List of Roads across the Northern Western Ghats :

Sakri – Pimpalner
Sakri – Dahivel
Kalwan - Dhule
Nashik - Kasara
Sangamner – Bhandardara
Ahmednagar – Kalyan
Pune – Nashik
Pune – Mumbai
Old Pune – Mumbai Express
Pune - Satara (Katraj)
Pune - Satara (Kumbharli)
Karad – Chiplun
Satara – Mahabaleshwar – Poladpur
Kolhapur- Shahuwadi – Ratnagiri
Rajapur – Kolhapur
Kolhapur – Kudal ( Phonda Ghat)
Belgaum – Kudal
Nipani – Kudal
Panji – Belgaum
Pune – Bhor – Mahad

Source: Paranjpye, 2011, p 10-11

2.10.3-The Mumbai-Pune Expressway Courtesy :

Measures for Mitigation/Improvement :

The Panel recommends the following : -

 No new railway lines and major roads in ESZ1, except where it is highly essential (as perhaps in Goa), and subject to EIA, strict regulation and social audit. Goa is a special case because it has most of its current development, including the Konkan Railway located along its coastal regions. Balancing development and decongesting the coast thus requires some movement to the talukas in the Western Ghats, which are mostly demarcated as ESZ1 by the Panel. Given that Goa‟s boundary with Karnataka is in ESZ1,

it may require some leeway on this issue. Goa‟s Regional Plan 21 also has plans to spatially move development to inner talukas and this will require some transport infrastructure development.

 Avoidance of new highways, expressways in ESZ1.

 No new railway lines and major roads, except when highly essential and subject to EIA, strict regulation and social audit in ESZ2.

 Upgrading of roads and railways is permissible in ESZ2 subject to strict guidelines.

 Essential new roads/ railways may be allowed in ESZ3 subject to strict regulation and social audit.

 A master plan be prepared for the transport sector in the entire Western Ghats that would take into consideration both present needs and future demands of transport of people and goods across the ghats in relation to the biodiversity and ecological value of the area. Such a master plan could then make recommendations of possible development of essential railway line/s and/or roads that would cause the least disturbance to the ecology.

 All future proposals for railway lines and roads should undergo a thorough environmental and wildlife impact assessment. The WGEA should set up a sub committee (comprising all relevant stakeholders and local communities and tribes) to assess the environmental and ecological impacts of constructing any transport infrastructure through rich forests, wildlife habitats and wildlife corridors.

 Before a project is approved, necessary mitigation measures including engineering solutions such as tunnelling, bridges, overpasses or elevated roads to facilitate the passage of animals, should be a mandatory part of the project design.

NEXT : 2.11 Human Settlements :

OPINION :

1. THE TWO FRONTS OF KERALA POLITICS THE UDF - LDF AND ITS LEADING POLITICAL DENOMINATIONS CONGRESS AND COMMUNISTS ARE  IGNORANT, NOT EFFICIENT, DISHONEST, LAZY BUGGERS, NOT PREPARED TO STUDY THE HIGHLY VALUED GADGIL REPORT AND DISCUSS WITH MADHAV GADGIL THE OUTSTANDING KNOWLEDGE TREASURE, TAKE HIS GUIDANCE IN IMPLEMENTING THE REPORT;

2. THE ALLIANCE PARTNERS OF THE TWO FRONTS ARE MERE FOOLS, ASSOCIATION WITH THE MAJOR PARTNER CONGRESS AND COMMUNISTS FOR PIECES OF BONES THROWN TO THEM, THESE BUGGERS CHEW THE BONES AND OTHER SUNDRY GAINS, PASS THE TIME, TO THE NEXT ELECTIONS;

3. INTERMITTENT FAVOURITE GAME, OF THESE TWO FRONTS ARE ABUSING PM MODI JI AND BJP, PROGRAMMING  AGITATIONS AGAINST THE CENTRE, FOOLING THE PUBLIC;

4. NEXT IS ABUSING HINDUS, DIVIDE THEM IN CASTE BRACKETS, ALLOW CLASH AMONG THEM, ENJOY THE BLEEDING IN HINDU COMMUNITY  SITTING ON THE FENCE AS VULTURES;

5. THE STUPID VELLAPULLY AND SUKUMARAN NAIR LIKES ARE THE MAJOR CURSES FOR EZHAVA AND NAIR  COMMUNITIES, ANOTHER PART IS SNDP HIJACKED PIECE OF CAKE USED AS POLITICAL TOOL BY EZHAVAS AS THE NAIRS SERVICE SOCIETY;

LAST WORD :

1. WESTERN GHATS IS IN GREAT DANGER OF DESTRUCTION, IF NOT PROTECTED, PRESERVED HONESTLY, THE WHOLE KERALA WILL SUFFER, BY SLIDING OF HILLS, FLOODS, LOW RAIN FALL, SCARCITY OF WATER, DESTRUCTION OF SPECIES IN PLANT AND ANIMAL KINGDOMS, AT THE END STATE ITSELF DISAPPEAR;

2. THE PAITHRUKAM OF KERALA LOSSING, WHEN SABARIMALA IS IN THE CENTRE STAGE OF CORRUPTION, INVOLVING DEVASWOM AND GOVERNMENT, THE TEMPLE COLLECTIONS ARE BEING WASTED WITH END RESULT A PURE NON-SENSE, CONTROVERSIES STIMULATED BY MUSLIMS, CHRISTIANS, CONGRESS AND COMMUNISTS, QUESTION THE EXISTENCE OF SABARIMALA IN FUTURE, IF NOT CONTROLLED NOW AND PUT AN END;

3. THE TRUTH THE PEOPLE MUST AWAKE, AND RELIEVE THEMSELVES FROM POLITICAL CONNECTIONS, PARTICIPATE AND  CONTRIBUTE TO THE HOLY LAND KERALA, WITHOUT ANY BIAS OF RELIGION, CASTE OR CREED.

REMEMBER THIS :

1. PUNJAB FLOURISHED IN AGRICULTURE BECAUSE OF GREEN REVOLUTION LEAD BY Dr. MS. SWAMINATHAN;

2. GUJARAT FLOURISHED WITH MILK BECAUSE OF WHITE ( FLOOD ) REVOLUTION LEAD BY Dr. VERGHESE KURIEN;

3.  KASHMIR LOST THE PARADISE STATUS BECAUSE KASHMIRI MUSLIM PEOPLE WHO PATRONISE TERRORISM, THOUGH FEW GOOD PEOPLE MAY BE THERE;

4. NOW IT IS THE TURN OF KERALA AND ITS DIRTY POLITICS, LAND OF PARASURAM AND GREAT ACHARYA OF ADVAITHAM, SWAMI SRI ADI SANKARACHARYA   INTO A DESERT SOON.

JAIHIND
VANDE MATARAM

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