Wayanad-Bandipur elevated road proposal by Kerala govt sparks outrage among activists in Mysuru

Mysuru: The proposal by the Union ministry of road transport and highways to build an elevated road connecting Kerala and Karnataka by scything through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve had triggered widespread outrage among environmentalists and wildlife activists in the state. To express their opposition to the proposed project, many citizen groups and environmental organisations staged one protest after another in December and January. At a time when it appeared as though the administrators had heeded public opinion in Karnataka, the proposal by the Kerala government to bear half the cost of the Wayanad-Bandipur elevated road has reignited fears among conservationists of the lush forests, which is also one of the last remaining habitats of tigers, being subjected to further fragmentation.
Thomas Issac, the Kerala finance minister who tabled the budget, said that residents of Wayanad, a border town in the neighbouring state, had for long grappled with poor connectivity to other towns and cities, and posited the elevated road to Bandipur via the forest as the solution to this longstanding problem. Issac announced that the Kerala government would provide Rs 450 to Rs 500 crore towards the project.

The proposal, many environmentalists believe is Kerala’s subtle way of applying pressure on the Karnataka government, which scrapped the project in the wake of public protests in Bengaluru and Mysuru.

The environmentalists have charged the Kerala government with legal impropriety, pointing out that the matter was in the Supreme Court, not to mention Karnataka’s rejection of the proposal on multiple occasions.

K Bhagyalakshmi, an environmental activist based out of Mysuru, alleged the role of construction mafia behind Kerala government’s decision to go ahead with the project. “Wild animals that will be affected do not have a voice to protest. Bandipur forest is unique in more ways than one. How can the government propose projects that will adversely impact the environment?” she asked.

Questioning the rationale behind the project, Bhagyalakshmi said, “Who needs this project. Why can’t our elected representatives understand the importance of protecting wildlife. Kerala government’s proposal is a sad development.” Bhagyalakshmi said that the activists would not take their foot off the pedal as far as the agitations were concerned. “All of us need forests and wildlife. The survival of the forest is essential even to Kerala,” she added.

Wildlife First trustee and one of the petitioners in the Supreme Court Praveen Bhargav told TOI, “Kerala Government must comply with constitutional imperatives of protecting forests and wildlife before committing large sums of public money in the budget for the disastrous Bandipur elevated road proposal which has already been rejected by both Karnataka government and the National Tiger Conservation Authority have rejected the project.”