New railway lines set to cut through 13 tiger corridors

Nagpur: Even as the death of three tiger cubs by the speeding Chanda Fort-Gondia passenger train on Thursday in Chichpalli (Chandrapur district) is a grim reminder of how linear projects are killing the country’s wildlife, experts warned of more such incidents considering the proposed expansion of railway network in Central India that threatens to cut at least 13 tiger corridors across 23 tiger reserves.
Wildlife experts state Indian Railways have taken up trebling of railway line network sans mitigation measures which will cut multiple corridors in Central Indian Tiger Landscape (CITL). A third line to be added to major trunk routes threatens the viability of tigers in CITL.

While the third line work of section through Ratapani wildlife sanctuary in MP has been cleared with mitigation measures by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), such planning during expansion for other lines still remains a grey area.

Indian Railways is on a massive expansion of railway network to add third lines with an aim to increase freight and passenger traffic. Third lines are being laid between Delhi-Chennai and Mumbai-Howrah route. Both these lines pass through Nagpur and cut across major swathes of forests in Central India.

While railways claim their mode of transport is eco friendlier with a lower carbon footprint than roads network, addition of lines poses added dangers to tiger populations across Central India.

Aditya Joshi, co-author of scientific paper published in Biological Conservation journal by National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) and Foundation for Ecological Research, Advocacy & Learning (FERAL), says, “The effect of development of just two roads — NH7 & NH6 — found that it increases tiger extinction risk by 50%. Similarly, the effect of these two major railway lines will also increase extinction risk.”

Milind Pariwakam, an expert member of IUCN’s Transport Working Groups (IUCN-TWG) which focuses on linear infrastructure ecology, said, “Studies show that rail line expansion threatens up to 13 corridors in Central India.”

He added that the NTCA is empowered “to protect corridors and should take lead in ensuring a win-win scenario for tiger corridors by proactively planning for mitigation measures at landscape scale while the multiple railway projects are in planning stage. This will help planned development and save taxpayers money”.

The guidelines for mitigation measures are already in place by the MoEFCC, NTCA on which the Indian Railways, NHAI and World Bank are also partners.

Tiger presence outside protected area (PA) network is of dispersing age individuals, young adults and tiger cubs that are most vulnerable to unmitigated linear infrastructure as seen in Chandrapur and Ratapani where rail line has claimed at least 7 tigers.

SECR and Central Railway are two major players planning third and fourth lines sans any mitigation. SCR upgradation of railway line through Melghat reserve is already under a cloud.

A senior SECR official said, “The entire narrow-gauge network is being widened. We can’t take any mitigation steps for already completed lines like Chanda-Gondia, which was upgraded in 1999 with all clearances. Both, the railway and environment ministries will have to take a call for fresh mitigation steps. For new lines like Wadsa-Gadchiroli we are planning mitigation measures.”

State wildlife board member Bandu Dhotre says, “In April 2013, when a tiger was killed by train on Chanda-Gondia line, the MoEFCC had directed SECR to impose speed restriction but these restrictions are never followed. Increased train traffic will take heavy toll on wildlife in future.”