Panaji: The National Wildlife Council has proposed canceling the double-track of the Vasco-Castlerock-Tinaighat section, and instead laying double-track the Hubballi-Ankola road.
Board members, while discussing the Karnataka proposal at the Hubali-Ankola Railway Project Standing Committee meeting last month, said there was a “need to avoid” deforestation and, therefore, double tracking of densely forested areas such as the Vasco-Castlerock-Tinaighat route should be dropped.
The directors felt that permission should be given for the Hubballi-Ankola line to double, since the construction period is eight years, at the end of which there would be demand for the double anyway.
There is a need to avoid deforestation. This can be demonstrated by dropping the proposal to double the railway line between Vasko-Castlerock-Tenegat stations. Members suggested that the proposal between Honnavar and Talaguppa might also be dropped because it would pass through a more densely forested area.
Committee members said that although the new Hubali-Ankola railway project comes at an environmental cost, it has potential benefits in terms of the need to connect coastal and remote areas.
The state of Karnataka proposed the new railway project on the Hubali-Ankola route in 2017.
This can be demonstrated by dropping the proposal to double the railway line between Vasko-Castlerock-Tennegat stations. The proposal between the Honnavar-Tallaguba railway line may also be dropped because it would pass through a more densely forested area. Railways need to prove that deforestation is avoided and also this railway line (Hubali-Ankola) will be a major transport hub between Karwar and Hubali.”
The Standing Committee, after discussion, decided that the Union Environment Ministry should hold a joint workshop “with officials of the Ministry of Railways, National Highways Authority of India, Jati Shakti, Government of Karnataka, and experts from IIT-Dharwad, IISc-Bangalore, and Central PWD to discuss the project proposal in detail.”
The workshop would look at an integrated approach, as it was felt that the National Highway and Rail Trail would be close to each other at some point in the future and therefore integrated wildlife corridor structures should be discussed.
“The assessment is that more than 1,000 hectares of forest land will be affected by this project,” one committee member noted. “It has had enormous implications for mass integration, biodiversity and animal corridors in the Western Ghats, which must be addressed. There has been an expansion of the elephant range. Elephants are now crossing these areas. There is evidence of tigers moving from the Kali Tiger Reserve to the Sharvathi Reserve.”
However, the committee said that it decided to take a more balanced view regarding the need for connectivity between the coastal region and the hinterland.
Railways are distributed across the west coast between Mumbai and Pune, across the Palghat Gap, Hassan to Mangalore, and Vasco-Goa to Hubali. The railway between Vasco and Habali has a grade of 1:37. There are plans to widen the roads. The energy efficiency of railways in terms of transporting goods and services is much higher than that of roads. “Accidents happen regularly on the roads,” said a panel member during the discussion.
All things considered, it was felt that the project with a 1:100 gradient could become a major transport infrastructure project across the Western Ghats, and the project could in fact be for a double line.
Board members, while discussing the Karnataka proposal at the Hubali-Ankola Railway Project Standing Committee meeting last month, said there was a “need to avoid” deforestation and, therefore, double tracking of densely forested areas such as the Vasco-Castlerock-Tinaighat route should be dropped.
The directors felt that permission should be given for the Hubballi-Ankola line to double, since the construction period is eight years, at the end of which there would be demand for the double anyway.
There is a need to avoid deforestation. This can be demonstrated by dropping the proposal to double the railway line between Vasko-Castlerock-Tenegat stations. Members suggested that the proposal between Honnavar and Talaguppa might also be dropped because it would pass through a more densely forested area.
Committee members said that although the new Hubali-Ankola railway project comes at an environmental cost, it has potential benefits in terms of the need to connect coastal and remote areas.
The state of Karnataka proposed the new railway project on the Hubali-Ankola route in 2017.
This can be demonstrated by dropping the proposal to double the railway line between Vasko-Castlerock-Tennegat stations. The proposal between the Honnavar-Tallaguba railway line may also be dropped because it would pass through a more densely forested area. Railways need to prove that deforestation is avoided and also this railway line (Hubali-Ankola) will be a major transport hub between Karwar and Hubali.”
The Standing Committee, after discussion, decided that the Union Environment Ministry should hold a joint workshop “with officials of the Ministry of Railways, National Highways Authority of India, Jati Shakti, Government of Karnataka, and experts from IIT-Dharwad, IISc-Bangalore, and Central PWD to discuss the project proposal in detail.”
The workshop would look at an integrated approach, as it was felt that the National Highway and Rail Trail would be close to each other at some point in the future and therefore integrated wildlife corridor structures should be discussed.
“The assessment is that more than 1,000 hectares of forest land will be affected by this project,” one committee member noted. “It has had enormous implications for mass integration, biodiversity and animal corridors in the Western Ghats, which must be addressed. There has been an expansion of the elephant range. Elephants are now crossing these areas. There is evidence of tigers moving from the Kali Tiger Reserve to the Sharvathi Reserve.”
However, the committee said that it decided to take a more balanced view regarding the need for connectivity between the coastal region and the hinterland.
Railways are distributed across the west coast between Mumbai and Pune, across the Palghat Gap, Hassan to Mangalore, and Vasco-Goa to Hubali. The railway between Vasco and Habali has a grade of 1:37. There are plans to widen the roads. The energy efficiency of railways in terms of transporting goods and services is much higher than that of roads. “Accidents happen regularly on the roads,” said a panel member during the discussion.
All things considered, it was felt that the project with a 1:100 gradient could become a major transport infrastructure project across the Western Ghats, and the project could in fact be for a double line.