Perhaps in a first for the country , the National Board for Wildlife recently approved eco-ducts or monkey ladders over the main carriageway of the MumbaiGoa National highway to allow animals to cross over to the other side.
The eco-duct is one of the measures for widening of the NH-17 through the 2km core area of the Karnala Bird Wildlife Sanctuary , the other being underpasses or underground tunnels for these animals. The eco-ducts have been recommended by a committee comprising representatives of the National Tiger Conservation Authority , Wildlife Institute of India and National Highways Authority of India.
Not all conservationists are happy. Naturalist Shardul Birajkar said one of the rea sons for declaring the area a sanctuary was because it was conducive for birds. “The existing road also passes through the valley which is the core habitat of birds. The main opposition to the widening was that it would disturb the birds. There are hardly any large mammals to speak of in the Karnala sanctuary . It does not address the issue of conservation of birds,“ he said.
The state plan, though, is aimed at keeping the animals' natural habitat intact, which otherwise normally gets divided forever when a road splits a jungle, leaving even plants with no scope to grow transversely . On August 18, the state got a crucial nod from the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) to widen PanvelGoa-Kochi Highway--NH17 -from two lanes, at present, to four lanes through the core area of the bird sanctuary near Panvel. The permission, though, has come with riders.
The road development authorities--the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the state public works department--will have to create seven big underpasses, each three-by-three-metre wide, to allow animals to move across freely and safely. These concrete tunnels will be layered with natural soil so that they look natural cave-like structures with plants and water around. There will also be around five monkey ladders across the highway . These structures will be constructed in such a way as to keep the biodiversity untouched.
Two per cent of the Rs 1,000 crore project cost is to be utilized for wildlife conservation.Initially the Wildlife Board had set several conditions and refused to allow widening in the core area. In its previous meeting in June it agreed to widening in the core area and set up an expert committee to suggest mitigation measures. NHAI officials said they had earlier considered a flyover instead of road widening, but did not find it feasible. “The flyover alone would cost Rs 125 crore, which we can not fit into the budgeted cost,“ said an official.
There has already been a two-year delay in road work af ter a contract was given out.Work on only 25km of the remaining 62km stretch has been undertaken as there are loan issues with banks. The Panvel-Indapur stretch is estimated at Rs 1,000 crore.
“Some formalities are to be completed now. We have to get the final permission from the Supreme Court for the 2km widening in the core area of the sanctuary and we are still to get the National Green Tribunal permission for the remaining 64km. As these formalities and bank permissions are sorted, we will take some time for clearing, acquisition, encroachment and utility shifting issues. If this gets an allclear in the next four months, we will be able to start work by the year-end and finish it by December 2016,“ said a senior NHAI engineer, who did not wish to be named.
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