SC rejects clearance for doubling of railway line from Castle Rock to Kulem

The Supreme Court on Monday accepted a recommendation by the court appointed Central Empowered Committee against doubling of railway line from Castle Rock in Karnataka to Kulem in Goa for being detrimental to the internationally recognised biodiversity hotspot of the Western Ghats.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai rejected the clearance of the project granted by the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife.

Acting on a plea by NGO Goa Foundation, the top court, however, said this would not preclude Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd to carry out a detailed analysis on the impact of the proposed project on the bio-diversity and ecology of the protected areas under the wildlife sanctuary and then submit a fresh proposal to the standing committee of NBWL which would consider the matter in accordance with law.

In its report of April 23, 2021, the CEC said “that it does not find any justification for the railway track as it “will destroy the fragile ecosystem of the Western Ghats which is an internationally recognised Biodiversity hotspot and also one of the most important wildlife corridor of the country”.

The doubling of line “will only be marginally enhancing the capacity of the most inefficient section of the railway network passing through ecologically sensitive and biodiversity rich tiger reserve, two wildlife sanctuaries and a national park,” it had further said.

The NBWL's standing committee had cleared three projects — the doubling of the railway track, the four-laning of the NH 4A from Anmod near the Goa-Karnataka border to Mollem and laying of a 400 KV transmission line from Sangod in Goa to the Karnataka border, in order to meet Goa’s peak electricity demand of 1,192 MW by 2022.

The CEC had recommended revoking the permission for the railway expansion project.

The highway expansion, it said, could be allowed subject to modifications like expansion of animal corridors and elevated highways in places where animal crossings are frequent. The committee favoured for utilising existing 220 KV powerline to lay a new 400 KV line instead of cutting down fresh forest cover.