MoEF panel returns Magadi-Somwarpet road widening proposal citing lack of clarity

The expert committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change’s (MoEF&CC) has sent back the state highway authority’s proposal for diverting about 100 acres forest and felling over 12,000 trees to expand state highway - 85 for lack of clarity on the project.

The panel has advised the state government to reconsider the project and provide full details.

Under the Phase 3 of the Karnataka State Highway Improvement Project (KSHIP), the government had sought 97 acres of forest in Tumakuru, Ramanagar and Hassan districts to widen the road between Magadi and Somwarpet. Officials had said the road will be converted into a two-lane carriageway with paved shoulders.

However, the regional committee noted that the project abruptly ended in Somwarpet with no
connectivity with any major state or national highway.

“Clarity on the objective of creating an abruptly ending project is required,” the committee said.

When asked, the KSHIP representative said the construction of the connecting road will be taken up in the next step. The committee expressed displeasure in providing a piecemeal project proposal.

The members also expressed concern over the demand to divert forest areas with thousands of trees without justification.

In Tumakuru and Mandya divisions, 7,830 and 4,491 trees respectively, fall in the area proposed for diversion. “The forest area proposed in Tumakuru division is rich in medicinal plants, sandalwood and wildlife,” the deputy inspector general of forests noted.

As per rule, entities using forest land for development have to provide land for compensatory afforestation.

However, KSHIP had proposed to give land in Hassan where municipal waste was dumped. The land was also not in proximity to any forest.

A member of the committee said while development was welcome, the lack of adherence to rules was a concern: “Kodagu and Hassan districts are sensitive areas with the former experiencing landslides every year. Proposing a project in piecemeal will lead to lack of understanding on the full environmental impact. Ultimately, the public will suffer. It is a major concern that work is taken up in non-forest areas without waiting for forest clearance.”