For efficient conservation and protection of wild life during road construction, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has proposed to use space technology for planning and monitoring of conflict zones.
The highways body would also provide the details of all National Highways projects to Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for developing a Geological Information System (GIS) enabled map of all national highways passing through Protected Areas.
"NHAI propose using space technology for planning and monitoring of conflict zones and putting in place mitigation measures for environmental protection and conservation along the highways," it said in a statement.
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With a view to mainstream sustainable development and environmental management into highway development projects, NHAI is also creating a platform for dialogue where development goals and conservation needs can be resolved across the table by all stakeholders.
"Chairman NHAI initiated the dialogue with the representatives from the WII, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change last month," the statement said.
The dialogue will now continue through meetings to be held once every quarter, providing a structured platform for expeditious consultations with all stakeholders for convergence of development goals with conservation needs, it said.
"Conservation of wildlife is the focus of attention. Chairman NHAI has assured to undertake all necessary measures to avoid, minimise, and mitigate any impact on wildlife that may result in the course of development of National Highways," the statement said.
Chairman, NHAI has also emphasised the necessity of scientific designing of mitigation measures, so that the project designs could be optimised, safeguarding wildlife while maintaining the cost-effectiveness of the projects on long term basis.
"With such a platform in place, NHAI expects to reduce the time factor in consultations, clearances and finalisation of mitigation plans thereby saving huge costs to the society," the statement added.
