Greens worried over tunnel plan in Shiradi Ghat

The move to take up tunnelling and widening has made conservationists remark that the ecologically sensitive ghats had already come under pressure

Conservationists expressed concern over the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari’s decision to widen the Shiradi Ghat Road and also build a 23-km tunnel in the Western Ghats.

Gadkari communicated the decision in a letter to Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, seeking to give relief to commuters in coastal districts, who suffer due to poor connectivity during rains every year. He said tenders have been invited to widen the existing two-lane road to a four-lane road at an estimated cost of Rs 1,976 crore, while NHAI was also finalising detailed project reports for the Rs 15,000-crore Shiradi Ghat tunnel (23 km) work.

The minister’s move to take up both tunnelling and widening “simultaneously” has triggered concerns among conservationists, who said the ecologically sensitive ghats had already come under pressure. The tender for the widening of the 26-km road from Maranahalli to Addahole (km 237 to km 263) was floated on December 15, 2022, with February 1 as the last date for submission of bids. The successful bidder will get two years to complete the project. The company has to maintain the stretch for the next five years.

“We are not opposing the development. People in the region need better connectivity. However, the government should calculate the ecological costs because both are being taken up in vulnerable area. Widening the road in the dense forest area means thousands of trees will be affected. The government needs to commit to its goals of safeguarding biodiversity and ecology,” activist Joseph Hoover said.

An official monitoring the wildlife movement in the Western Ghats said widening the existing road will come as a huge threat to animals. “The ghat is barely recovering from the onslaught of projects, the most recent one being the disastrous Yettinahole pipeline. We see regular road kills of small animals that often go unnoticed. Widening the road will not only harm wildlife but will also lead to an increase in man-animal conflict. Also, building a 23-km long tunnel, which will require 24X7 electricity, stoppage areas and security, comes with risk factors. A holistic study has to be done before making decisions,” he said.

He said the government should evaluate the project in the larger context of climate change and questioned the need for widening the highway when the Centre has agreed to build a tunnel.

Anant Hegde Ashisar, former chairman of Biodiversity Board who headed the committee, said construction works in the ghats were a sensitive matter. “The government should do a holistic evaluation of both plans (widening and tunnelling) to understand risks,” he said.