Western Ghats, Tiger & Elephant Corridors Below Risk

 Tiger Conservation Of Complete Western Ghats At Stake

The railway challenge, conceived in 1998, is proposed to go the forests between two main protected areas — Kali Tiger Reserve and Bedthi Conservation Reserve. Greater than 80% of the  railway line has to go by means of the dense forest lands of the Western Ghats, and this entails the diversion of 595 hectares of prime forests which was initially proposed as 965  hectares.  Situated on the centre of  Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, Kali Tiger Reserve includes two essential protected areas of the area -Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary and Anashi Nationwide Park .And they’re contiguous to one another to type a single tract of protected space situated within the biodiversity delicate Western Ghats. Consequently the habitat connectivity between Kali Tiger Reserve and Bhadra Tiger Reserve will probably be misplaced and it’ll have severe implications for long run conservation of tigers in your entire Western Ghat panorama.The challenge was proposed for transportation of iron and manganese ore and the identical will be finished by means of  NH-63 which remains to be underutilised.

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UNESCO described the Western Ghats : “Older than the Himalaya mountains, the mountain chain of the Western Ghats represents geomorphic options of immense significance with distinctive biophysical and ecological processes. The location’s excessive montane forest ecosystems affect the Indian monsoon climate sample.” It additionally mentioned, “Moderating the tropical local weather of the area, the positioning presents among the best examples of the monsoon system on the planet. It additionally has an exceptionally excessive degree of organic variety and endemism and is acknowledged as one of many world’s eight ‘hottest hotspots’ of organic variety. The forests of the positioning embrace a number of the finest representatives of non-equatorial tropical evergreen forests anyplace and are dwelling to a minimum of 325 globally threatened flora, fauna, fowl, amphibian, reptile and fish species.”  Due to variety and ecological processes that affect the monsoon, your entire catchment of Western Ghat is understood to supply water safety to peninsular India.

 The Plan Destruct Pristine Forests   

The HARP is  conceived primarily for the transportation of iron and manganese ores from Bellary-  Hospet Area to imminent two new ports of Tadri (close to Ankola) and Karwar on the western coast of Karnataka and to the present ports of Vasco in Goa. Each Ports are but to be developed. In 2004, the full challenge value was Rs 1153.08 crores which was revised in 2017 to Rs 3,700 crores to be shared on a 50:50 foundation between the state authorities of Karnataka and the Railways. An MOU was signed between the 2 –the ministry of Railways and Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Growth Enterprise (KRIDE), a Authorities of Karnataka company.If sanctioned, it might take about 8 to 10 years to implement it.  The Railways proposed “mitigation plans “by means of a number of underpasses, overpasses and tunnels by means of which the proposed alignment is prone to go

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“ That is actually a destruction plan and never mitigation plan”, mentioned a consultant of United Conservation Motion, a collective of involved residents voicing protest towards the HARP.  Although over two lakh bushes are estimated to be lower for the challenge,  the precise quantity is prone to be way more, sources mentioned. In an Environmental Influence Evaluation report ready by the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, the full financial valuation of the forest below proposed challenge was assessed as Rs 40, 859 lakhs/ha/yr. The challenge continues to be opposed. Like many others, Karnataka State Board of Wildlife unanimously rejected the proposal in a gathering on March 9 2020. However 11 days later the chairman of the board who occurs to be the chief minister of the state reconvened the assembly and the challenge was cleared on March 20.

 Railways’ Pending Tasks In Tiger Reserves 

This isn’t the primary time that Railways have proposed some challenge proper inside pristine forest. In 2019, the Union setting ministry exempted 13 pending railway initiatives, value Rs 19,400 crore ($2.8 billion) and unfold over 800 hectares of land, from the method of in search of forest permits, in response to official paperwork. These clearances may adversely affect a nationwide park, a tiger reserve, a tiger hall and wildlife sanctuaries throughout the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa. Regardless of warning by authorities appointed specialists, the standing committee of the Nationwide Board for Wildlife on January 5, 2021 cleared a railway challenge to double a railway observe within the Western Ghats. The challenge in query is the doubling of the observe of the Hospet-Hubballi-Londa-Vasco Da Gama railway line by the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL). 

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The challenge, sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Railways in 2010-11, includes doubling of the 353-kilometre-long railway observe in Karnataka and Goa passing by means of the Western Ghats. The challenge is split into two phases with Part I overlaying 252 km between Hospet and Tinaighat and Part II overlaying the Tinaighat-Vasco stretch. The part II includes diversion of 9.57 ha of forest land within the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary (in Karnataka) and 113.857 ha within the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem Nationwide Park (in Goa). Later it was  rejected by the Supreme Courtroom appointed Central Empowered Committee.  The Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary is a part of the Kali Tiger Reserve.

By Deshdeep Saxena

Cowl Pic Karnataka Tourism, Kali Tiger Reserve Cover  Sourced from Wikipedia