Central Ministers discuss forest clearance for 187 highway projects

Definition of trees causing hindrance for clearance figures in the meet chaired by Gadkari

July 08, 2020 02:48 am | Updated 02:58 am IST - NEW DELHI

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said the latest Austrian technology had been used in the construction of the Chamba tunnel. File

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said the latest Austrian technology had been used in the construction of the Chamba tunnel. File

Forest clearance for 187 highway projects was top on the agenda for a meeting on infrastructure on Tuesday.

The web conference of the Group of Ministers was chaired by Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and comprised Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.

Also read:Proposed ₹8,250-cr. Chambal Expressway a game changer for M.P., U.P., Rajasthan: Gadkari

The meeting discussed how the inclusion of shrubs and plants such as ‘Babool’ and ‘Kikar’ in the definition of trees was causing hindrance in seeking permission for forest clearance. This is among the reasons why the Dwarka Expressway has been delayed as there are 1,939 Babool shrubs out of the 6,364 trees identified for cutting.

The Minsters and officials also discussed the removal of level crossings on national highways to prevent road accidents. While 167 such crossings have already been identified and plans for constructing over-bridges and underpasses approved, work on them has been slow.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.