The Standing Committee of the National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) has given nod for the construction of a road through Ramnagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Jammu for the ambitious second phase of the Delhi-Katra Expressway.
The committee has asked the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to ensure the construction of underpasses in the region for free movement of wild animals.
Around 4.5622 hectares of forest land from Ramnagar Wildlife Sanctuary will be used for the development of Phase II of the Delhi-Katra Expressway, in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
New Delhi-Katra Expressway is a prestigious project of the Central Government that aims to drastically reduce travel time between New Delhi to Jammu and Katra and will also link prominent religious places, including the Golden Temple in Amritsar and Mata Vaishno Devi Ji shrine in Katra in Reasi district of Jammu region.
Giving the breakup of the phases, a senior official from the Union Environment Ministry said Phase 1 involves the construction of a 397.7 km greenfield expressway between Delhi-Ludhiana-Gurdaspur and a 99 km spur connecting Nakodar-Amritsar. The Standing Committee of the NBWL is the highest decision-making body under the Union Environment Ministry for reviewing the projects proposed in the protected wildlife habitats in the country.
Phase 2 of the Expressway will connect Gurdaspur- Pathankot-Jammu-Katra and will be a brownfield expansion of the existing NH-54 (old NH-15) and NH-44 (old NH-1) highway, according to an official from the Union Environment Ministry.
The proposal (Phase II) had already been approved by the Chief Wildlife Warden, State Board for Wildlife, and the Government of UT of J&K.
“After discussions, the Standing Committee of the NBWL at a recent meeting decided to recommend the proposal. However, the approval has been with the conditions that the legal status of the land shall remain unchanged while the user agency shall be responsible for obtaining requisite clearances under any other law in vogue.
“Also, no harm to any wildlife species shall be done, if found accidentally in the project area. The user agency shall construct speed breakers at critical wildlife passage areas wherever required as well as underpasses and implement mitigation measures as per the animal passage plan for free movement of wild animals, said the official who was privy to the meeting,” said NBWL
The land so allowed to be used shall be returned to the department free of any encumbrances when it is no longer required by the user agency.