Wildlife nod must to upgrade rly line through Melghat: Goyal

Nagpur: Even as Amravati MP Navneet Rana is pitching for up-gradation of meter-gauge railway line through Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR) in Amravati district, railway minister Piyush Goyal has made it clear that the stalled work in the section through the reserve cannot be taken up without obtaining wildlife clearances.
The fact was made clear on July 5, 2021, by Goyal himself in a letter written to Rana, who had raised the issue in Lok Sabha on September 22, 2020, demanding early completion of Akola-Khandwa gauge conversion project and operation of Shakuntala railway line.
Goyal has said, of the 173.59km Akola-Khandwa gauge conversion project, work on Akola-Akot (44km) section has been completed. Work in Amalakhurd-Khandwa (53km) section has been taken up on land available, while work in Akot-Amalakhurd (77km) section has been held up for wildlife clearance.
Talking to TOI, Rana confirmed the communication from Goyal and said she will continue to push for the up-gradation of the railway line through the tiger reserve as it benefits many tribal villages. “I’m really surprised when earlier committees and even forest department approved the project, why a U-turn was taken? I will follow up on the issue,” she said.
Amid confusion whether the railways need clearances as it is upgrading the line in its right of way (ROW), this is the first time that railway minister has come on record that wildlife clearance is mandatory for taking up stalled work in tiger reserve section.
As reported on July 14, 2020, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has already rejected the proposal, asking the BJP government at the Centre to work out alternative alignment while upgrading the railway line through MTR.
Thackeray had made it clear to Goyal that “considering the long-term irreversible impacts of gauge conversion on endangered species like tiger and its habitat, it would be appropriate to focus on alternative alignment.”
Thackeray further pointed out, “We as a nation have been showcasing the achievements of ‘Project Tiger’ to the world and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has himself said that ‘conservation of tigers is not a choice but an imperative. Hence, alternate alignment of the railway line from outside the tiger reserve should be supported.”
Even three-time Shiv Sena MP from Buldhana Prataprao Jadhav, who played a key role in pushing the railway line out, opined that if an alternative route is worked out, at least 4 lakh people will directly benefit. The new alignment will also be parallel to Samruddhi Mahamarg and boost regional development.
Jadhav, who was instrumental in pursuing Thackeray to say ‘no’ to the project, feels if the line is upgraded through MTR, 82 villages will benefit (47 in Maharashtra and 35 in MP). “If new alignment is worked out, 212 villages will get the benefit (145 in Maharashtra and 67 in MP),” he said.
Shakuntala fate hangs in balance
The fate of Shakuntala’s closed narrow gauge (NG) section between Yavatmal-Murtizapur-Achalpur and Arvi-Pulgaon (225km) hangs in balance. A part of these NG sections is still owned by Canadian Pacific Railway, known as CP Railway. The proposal for gauge conversion of these sections was included in Capital Investment Programme in 2017-18 in anticipation that the state government will take up the project on joint venture mode. However, the proposed railway is still not owned by the ministry of railways and the proposal of determination of railway agreement with CP Railway is still not final. Till then the fate of the Shakuntala railway line cannot be decided.