PWD seeks MoEF approval for 8 km mega tunnel road project

The public works department (PWD) has requested the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to seek approval for the planned 8 km-long mega tunnel road project between Kozhikode and Wayanad in the Western Ghat area. The Rs 2,080-crore four-lane tunnel project intends to decrease the travel time, essentially for interstate motorists between Kerala and Karnataka, by half an hour. Government documents presented to the MoEF reveal that about 63% of the land needed for the project goes via forest land. Of the 54.62 hectares of the geographical region that will be procured for the project, 33.72 hectares come under the ambit of the forest. PWD told the media that the new connectivity is likely to draw development opportunities in industrial, agricultural and tourism segments to the entire Malabar area. Meanwhile, ecologists have raised the primary question that how can such a mega project be taken up without carrying out a comprehensive study on the influence of the biodiversity of the area. Madhav Gadgil, ecologist and architect of the WGEEP report, told the media, that surprisingly, this project has been envisioned close to Puthumala hills, where a massive landslide took place in 2019. The unbelievable disruption of wildlife habitat due to extensive quarrying while boring through the Western Ghats will affect the fragile ecosystem. Recurred ecological disasters have provided ample warnings to Kerala. It is high time that the government thought of sustainable projects targeted to preserve the environment. Experts point out that the tunnel project is developing between the scenic Chembra and Vellarimala (silver hills) hill ranges, called the famous Camel hump mountains, one of the most eco-fragile areas in the Western Ghats. The planned tunnel is passing via a high-value forest region that requires it to be conserved at all prices. The tunnel is only 2 km away from Puthumala, which had witnessed a series of landslides in 2019. The western side of this hill also observed landslides in the heavy rain in 2019 and 2020. Therefore, it is crucial to examine the stability of the hills in this region. The director of Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology, C K Vishnudas, told the media that the government must carry out a geological study before going ahead with the tunnel project. Image Source