Supreme Court refuses to interfere with environmental nod to Kerala's Kozhikode-Wayanad tunnel project

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea challenging the environmental clearance granted to the Kozhikode-Wayanad tunnel construction in Kerala, saying the project will be a lifeline for people of the state.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi refused to interfere with the Kerala High Court's order last year dismissing a plea by the Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi, an NGO, that challenged the construction of a the twin tube tunnel corridor for linking Kozhikode and Wayanad districts.

The bench granted liberty to the NGO to approach the National Green Tribunal if there was any violation of the conditions of the Environmental Clearance (EC) during the construction of the tunnel and rejected the challenge.

During the hearing, the bench told senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the NGO, that the project was of national importance and would be a lifeline for the people of Kerala given the condition of, where there is immense congestion on roads due to high population density and difficulty in procuring land.

Allaying the concerns of Divan that the area was a fragile eco-sensitive zone prone to severe landslides, the top court said the project was dealt with by domain experts and adequate safeguards have been suggested to address the environmental concerns.

The top court dismissed the petition that challenged environmental clearance granted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to the Public Works Department of the Government of Kerala for construction of twin tube unidirectional tunnel road with four lane approach for providing direct connectivity between Kozhikode and Wayanad districts of Kerala.

Under the project a 8.735 km twin tube tunnel road connecting Kozhikode and Wayanad through the Western Ghats will be constructed.