NHAI would provide 13 underpasses for animals over a stretch of 9 kilometres and reduce the standard highway length while widening the road through the reserve.
NHAI's plan to upgrade NH 7 from two-lane to four-lane on the periphery of Pench-Mowgli Sanctuary in Seoni district had hit a roadblock in 2008 as Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), an NGO working for tiger and wildlife conservation, had moved the centrally-empowered committee (CEC) of Supreme Court in 2008 seeking a ban on NHAI's project.
The NGO had alleged that the project would damage the delicate ecosystem of the tigers in the reserve. So far, the Supreme Court has not given any relief to NHAI.
Now, NHAI has come up with a fresh proposal. It plans to restrict construction activity on the 9-km stretch inside the reserve to a bare minimum. It would also reduce the highway width so that it does not adversely affect the natural habitat of the big cats. Read the full report here.
Source: Nidhi Sharma, ET Bureau, Economic Times, New Delhi.
