The flurry of activity on expediting the Nanjangud-Nilambur railway line project connecting South Karnataka with North Kerala has caused consternation among wildlife conservationists as the proposed track passes through a high-density wildlife zone.
Besides, the project has not secured environmental clearance from various agencies, including the National Board for Wildlife and the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change, and there are fears that stakeholders could steamroll the opposition.
While those in the commerce and industrial sectors in the region have urged speeding up the project on the grounds that it would shore up industrial growth of Mysuru and surrounding regions, conservationists argue that the matter requires deeper study and wider debate before it is given the go-ahead. Sudhakar Shetty, a representative of the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), met District in-charge Minister H.C. Mahadevappa last week and apprised him of the project’s importance.
The joint action committee, comprising trade and commerce bodies, also met in Mysuru early last week to seek support for the project.
Mr. Shetty said it would revive industrial activity and open up the vast hinterland in the region south of Mysuru. “We can have a flyover or tunnel along the forest stretch,” he said.
But Praveen Ramaswamy of Vanya-Let the Wild be Wild, an NGO advocating wildlife conservation, pointed out that there are as many elephants outside the forest area as inside and that the Mysore Elephant Reserve had the highest elephant density in Asia.
“Elephants being hit by trains is a regular phenomenon in parts of north and east India. The proposed project’s track alignment bisects a high-density wildlife zone. One can imagine the catastrophe that could unfold,” he said.
‘Use alternative route’
The proponents of the project in Kerala and Karnataka have claimed that the railway line would reduce road traffic, thus reducing the pressure on forests. But Mr. Ramaswamy argued that the improved rail connectivity between Bengaluru and Mysuru had not reduced road traffic, which, if anything, was on the rise. “The Karnataka government has already developed an alternative road route connecting the two States and this could be patronised,” he said.
It is proposed to align the track through Heggadahalla, Hediyala, Chikkabaragi and Mavanahalli, but Chikkabaragi is in an eco-sensitive zone while Mavanahalla is a core forest area, said Mr. Praveen, who added that the benefits of the project were being exaggerated.
The project’s track alignment bisects a high-density wildlife zone. One can imagine the catastrophe that could unfold.
Praveen Ramaswamy,conservationist
