Protecting Western Ghats

Proposed rail line would inflict permanent damage

With the Karnataka High Court staying the State Wildlife Board’s approval of the Hubballi-Ankola railway line project till further orders, the looming threat to the Western Ghats’ ecology seems to have abated for the time being. But a lasting relief would come only when this ill-advised proposal to divert the biodiversity-rich forest land of the Western Ghats to this controversial project is shelved for good. The Karnataka State Wildlife Board had recently approved the rail link between Hubballi, in Dharwad district, with Ankola, in Uttara Kannada, in a controversial manner, overruling the earlier rejection of this plan by several expert committees and statutory bodies. The Board, notably, had itself turned down this plan in the past but has now opted to reverse its own decision for inexplicable reasons. Besides, it has disregarded the misgivings expressed about the project by the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee in 2015 and the National Tiger Conservation Authority in 2018. The project has been in limbo for over two decades. 

The Western Ghats, a range of hills spanning six states —Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat — are one of the eight globally-acclaimed biodiversity hotspots declared as world heritage site by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. The proposed line would run through some evergreen and highly dense forests, harbouring many kinds of rare plants, birds and animals. It would bisect the vital wildlife corridor between the Bedthi Conservation Reserve and the Kali Tiger Reserve, which are the natural habitats of Asiatic elephants and tigers. Apart from axing over 200,000 trees, the project would vandalise the natural abode of a large number of other flora and fauna. At stake is the future of some 29 species of birds, eight of reptiles and 50 of butterflies, many of which are included in the Red List, for threatened species, of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Most of these are protected under India’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, as well. 

Thankfully, over 100 prominent environmentalists and ecologists, including many from abroad, have come forward to resist this project. In a joint communication, they have pointed out that the Western Ghats has already been dispossessed of around 40 per cent of its forest cover due to power transmission lines, highways and dams and there is no room for any further loss of vegetation. They have, by and large, endorsed the observation made by the judicial panel that the damage caused to the forests, wildlife and biodiversity by the Hubballi-Ankola railway line project would far outweigh the tangible benefits from it. However, all hope is not lost as the project is yet to get the final nod from the National Wildlife Board and the Union environment ministry. Besides, there is also the possibility of an alternative and relatively less damaging route for this rail line by linking Hubballi with Madgaon, instead of Ankola. Though the journey on this track may take over an hour longer, its construction would involve much less destruction of the Ghats’ sensitive ecosystems. Therefore, the state and national level wildlife boards, as also the Union environment ministry, would be well-advised to keep the expert opinion and the available alternatives to the project in view while taking the final call.