News By/Courtesy: Nishka Tyagi | 19 Aug 2018 1:15am IST

Wildlife Institute of India (WII) entered into a memorandum of Agreement with National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd (NBCC) after raising questions of propriety and conflict of interest. They said that this will facilitate and help in obtaining the necessary approvals, for constructing the 50 km long highway that is supposed to cut through the Corbett Tiger Reserve, under wildlife and forest laws. The road is supposed to cut though the Corbett reserve as a n unpaved and restricted road. The construction of this highway between Kotdwar and Ramnagar has been on the priority list of the state government. The said highway is supposed to decrease the travelling distance between the two cities by at least 78 km but at the cost of the Reserve which is a habitat to India’s many.

In 2005, states of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh along with centre and under the supervision of Supreme Court had proposed an alternate route but still the state government is pushing this particular route. BJP in the 2017 elections was adamant on making the highway pass through the Corbett Reserve director general (forests) and special secretary in the Environment Ministry, Siddhanta Das has told Indian Express that WII signs many such MoUs as a separate autonomous body and if there is conflict of interest that may arise, then the ministry will interfere. In March 207, Rawat had listed the highways to be among his highest priority at his first press conference. Ecotourism Corporation of Uttarakhand Ltd (EDCUL) was selected as the nodal agency for the highway project in December 2017, which would also include the construction of a flyover to allow wildlife movement inside the tiger reserve.

Asked why this new study of a route already rejected by the apex court, Mathur claimed that “a lot has changed” since 2005. “Today’s reality is different. Balancing conservation and development is a dynamic process and science has also evolved. So a reassessment is not a violation, and facilitator is not a bad word,” he said. Uttarakhand’s principal chief conservator of forests, Jai Raj has claimed that the highway will be built as a green road and follow all of WII’s guidelines. 

 

Section Editor: Shreyashi Tiwari | 19 Aug 2018 1:20am IST


Tags : #WWI #MinistryofEnvironmentandForest #Highway #Construction #Corbett

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