Major national highway project still await environment ministry's clearances

Twenty eight major highway projects have hit a road block owing to clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest. Some projects are as old as 2006.

Stretch along Karnala Bird Sanctuary near Mumbai on National Highway 17 has been lying unattended because of clearances to be acquired from Ministry of Environment and Forest. "The highway stretch between Panvel to Indapur has been marked as eco-sensitive zone, as a result we have not been able to acquire clearance from the wildlife department," said a senior officer of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). The expert Committee of National Board of Wildlife is still to give a decision on the same.

Proposed highway passing through Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary near Solapur and Yedshi Ramling Ghat wildlife sanctuary in Osmanabad district on Solapur stretch on National Highway 211 and on National Highway 13 are amongst the areas waiting for clearances for over three years now.

Besides Maharashtra, projects in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chattisgarh and Punjab have been waiting either forest or wild life clearances. These projects are held on National Highway 1, 87,8,84,215,7 and 95.

The Ministry of Environment and Forest in UPA 2 government in December 2013 had issued a notification, which allowed the ministry to give clearances to 38 projects. However, projects falling in the eco sensitive zone and wildlife conservation zone could not be cleared. Eight months down the line, the projects are still pending.

The NDA government that has been trying clear the backlog and has managed to clear some 46 projects, most of which were pending because of issues related to land acquisition, shifting of utilities and shortage of skilled manpower.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highway, meanwhile has been trying to tighten its working so that projects cost is not inflated. "We are trying to work on the formula that NHAI will not award work of new projects till the time all the mandatory clearances are acquired. All our projects have missed deadlines because of delay in clearances leading to cost accelerations," said the officer. NHAI has written to the ministry to approve of its this decision.