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Wildlife board defers plan on highway near Kerala reserve

ByJayashree Nandi, New Delhi
Jan 14, 2025 06:22 AM IST

The proposal to build the road near Silent Valley National Park was recommended by Chief Wild Life Warden, the State Board for Wild Life and Kerala govt

The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife has deferred a proposal for use of 134.1 hectares of land for construction of 4/6 lane of Palakkad - Kozhikode (NH- 966) under Bharatmala Pariyojana because of its proximity to the Silent Valley National Park.

The proposal to build the road near Silent Valley National Park was recommended by Chief Wild Life Warden, the State Board for Wild Life and Kerala Government as per the minutes. (AFP)
The proposal to build the road near Silent Valley National Park was recommended by Chief Wild Life Warden, the State Board for Wild Life and Kerala Government as per the minutes. (AFP)

“After discussions, the Standing Committee decided to defer the proposal till the submission of complete proposal for declaration of Eco-sensitive Zone (ESZ) around Silent Valley National Park by Kerala government,” state minutes of NBWL’s 81st meeting available on Parivesh website.

The proposal to build the road near Silent Valley National Park was recommended by Chief Wild Life Warden, the State Board for Wild Life and Kerala Government as per the minutes.

The Kerala government is expected to submit complete proposal for notification of ESZ around Silent Valley National Park. The NHAI project is proposed outside the extent of ESZ proposed by the State Government according to the minutes.

The National Board for Wildlife has 47 members with the Prime Minister in the Chair. The Minister in charge of the Ministry of Environment & Forests in the Central Government is the Vice-Chairperson. The National Board has the power to constitute a Standing Committee for the purpose of exercising such powers and performing such duties as may be delegated to the Committee by the National Board. The standing committee is chaired by union environment minister. As per the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 any non-forestry activity inside a Sanctuary or National Park requires clearance from the Standing Committee of NBWL.

Silent Valley was declared as National Park in 1984. The flora of the valley has around 1000 species of flowering plants, 107 species of orchids, 100 ferns and fern allies, 200 liverworts, 75 lichens and about 200 algae according to the Kerala government. The valley is also home several endemic and important species of mammals including Lion-tailed Macaque, Nilgiri Langur, Bonnet Macaque, Tiger, Leopard, Leopard Cat, Jungle Cat, and Fishing Cat .

The Standing Committee also considered a proposal for use of 9.89 hecatres of forest land from the tiger corridor connecting Sri Lankamalleswara Wild Life Sanctuary with Nagarajunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR).

The Committee has recommended site inspection by officials of National Tiger Conservation Authority, Wildlife Institute of India, Andhra Pradesh Forest Department for evaluation, examination of animal passage plan and suggest modifications in the animal passage plan.

The Standing Committee also considered proposals related to widening and construction of road through the buffer zone of Panna Tiger Reserve. The Chief Wild Life Warden, Madhya Pradesh mentioned that the Wildlife Institute of India has prepared a detailed plan for Panna landscape in connection with Ken-Betwa River Linking Project.

After discussions, the Standing Committee decided that a meeting may be convened with the expert members of the Standing committee, public representatives, user agencies, the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department, Wildlife Institute of India and highways ministry officials at Panna to comprehensively evaluate all the proposals related to the Panna Tiger Reserve and therefore, decided to defer the proposals for the next meeting.

The standing committee has also considered some critical policy matters in its 81st meeting.

One of the issues considered was monitoring of infrastructure projects and if they are abiding by the mitigation conditions directed to be implemented by them.

The Inspector General of Forests said that there was a need to establish robust mechanism to monitor implementation of terms and conditions of approved projects. Officials suggested that user agency/ infrastructure company submit compliance of terms and conditions on a six-monthly basis; on-ground verification be carried out by the concerned district forest officer at the same frequency; at least 50% of the projects be checked by a chief conservator of forests level officer who would then report to the chief wildlife wardens; and that details of field visits and field reports be uploaded on the Union environment ministry’s Parivesh Portal.

“The modern day linear projects are designed to transport goods, people or energy from one point to another. It hides most of what comes in between behind the narrative of managing or mitigating impacts. Regulatory systems need to rise above this practice and make visible the ecology and people that suffer the fallout of the existing approach. The principle of precaution in a world struggling with multiple crises is a necessity than an option,” said Kanchi Kohli, independent legal and policy expert.

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