Preserve nature: Stop Hubballi-Ankola Railway line
Preserve nature: Stop Hubballi-Ankola Railway line
The Issue
https://india.mongabay.com/2020/05/karnataka-government-okays-rail-line-in-the-western-ghats/
About 2.2 lakh trees in the Western Ghats are to be felled to lay a railway line between Hubballi and Ankola.
The state wildlife board had earlier approved an alternative rail route, which needed felling trees in only six-seven hectares, but the government had cancelled that proposal.
Experts predict that the loss of vegetation in the ecologically sensitive region will lead to a host of problems such as erratic rainfall, soil erosion, drying up of water sources, etc.
The rail line will also shrink the habitat of tigers and Asiatic elephants, restrict their movement and cause an increase in human-animal conflict
On August 12, 2017, the MoEFCC stated that while there are about 50 tiger reserves in the country, Kali Tiger Reserve and the Western Ghats constitute the best of the habitats for tigers and elephants.
The Railways ministry had proposed laying a broad-gauge line on the Hubballi-Ankola route in the railway budget of 1997-98. Resistance from ecologists kept the project from realisation. In 2011, Karnataka government asked the IISc to look into the concerns and present a report. The report, published in 2011, said the project could go ahead with certain adjustments to minimise damage to flora and fauna. The state government chose to go ahead with this report instead of the findings of two other committees—set up by the National Board for Wildlife—which recommended scrapping the project altogether.
In 2017, the Karnataka government had recommended the proposal to the MoEFCC based on the IISc report, where it recommended the implementation of the project with suggested improvements. However, in 2018, the National Board for Wildlife introduced two committees comprising the Inspector General of Forests, Wildlife Division of MoEFCC, Wildlife Institute of India, National Tiger Conservation Authority.
The Issue
https://india.mongabay.com/2020/05/karnataka-government-okays-rail-line-in-the-western-ghats/
About 2.2 lakh trees in the Western Ghats are to be felled to lay a railway line between Hubballi and Ankola.
The state wildlife board had earlier approved an alternative rail route, which needed felling trees in only six-seven hectares, but the government had cancelled that proposal.
Experts predict that the loss of vegetation in the ecologically sensitive region will lead to a host of problems such as erratic rainfall, soil erosion, drying up of water sources, etc.
The rail line will also shrink the habitat of tigers and Asiatic elephants, restrict their movement and cause an increase in human-animal conflict
On August 12, 2017, the MoEFCC stated that while there are about 50 tiger reserves in the country, Kali Tiger Reserve and the Western Ghats constitute the best of the habitats for tigers and elephants.
The Railways ministry had proposed laying a broad-gauge line on the Hubballi-Ankola route in the railway budget of 1997-98. Resistance from ecologists kept the project from realisation. In 2011, Karnataka government asked the IISc to look into the concerns and present a report. The report, published in 2011, said the project could go ahead with certain adjustments to minimise damage to flora and fauna. The state government chose to go ahead with this report instead of the findings of two other committees—set up by the National Board for Wildlife—which recommended scrapping the project altogether.
In 2017, the Karnataka government had recommended the proposal to the MoEFCC based on the IISc report, where it recommended the implementation of the project with suggested improvements. However, in 2018, the National Board for Wildlife introduced two committees comprising the Inspector General of Forests, Wildlife Division of MoEFCC, Wildlife Institute of India, National Tiger Conservation Authority.
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Petition created on 7 May 2020