Nod for mitigation delayed; tigress, 3 cubs cross widened road at Saighata

Nagpur: First, the forest department destroyed the tiger corridor between Umred-Karhandla-Paoni Wildlife Sanctuary and Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) by allowing road widening without any mitigation measures between Nagbhid-Saighata in Bramhapuri. Now, when the public works department (PWD) is keen on constructing overpasses, permission is being delayed.
The issue has again assumed significance, after a tigress with three cubs was found crossing the widened road near Saighata on Tuesday. A video of the tiger crossing the unmitigated corridor section near Saighata went viral on social media. Though many passersby, standing on both sides of the road waiting for the animal to cross the road, enjoyed the sighting, the lack of mitigation structures has put tigers and other wild species in danger. Earlier, two cubs of the same tigress, engaged in the conflict were captured.
Talking to TOI, Dipesh Malhotra, Bramhapuri deputy conservator, said that he was present on the spot. “The tigress had crossed the road with one cub and two were left behind. The other cubs too crossed the road after a while, and till then traffic had multiplied. A proposal on mitigation structures was forwarded to the Chandrapur conservator of forest (CF) last month from where it must have been forwarded to PCCF (wildlife). It will be moved before the state board for wildlife (SBWL) soon,” Malhotra said.
Taking suo motu cognizance of the TOI report on road projects cutting off tiger corridors surrounding Tadoba, published in November 2018, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), principal bench, Delhi, on January 6, 2020, directed the PWD/MoRTH to construct 26 underpasses on seven road patches in the Tadoba landscape as suggested by an expert panel. The Saighata and Ghodazari patches are among them. However, till now no steps have been taken to build the mitigation measures.
In 2018, when TOI had sought a version from then deputy conservator of forest (DyCF) Kulraj Singh, he had said, “Development of roads was necessary.” PWD was ready to construct mitigation measures even then, but the forest department did not ask for overpasses. However, the forest department's apathy has led to the destruction of the functional tiger corridor to TATR-NNTR-Umred-Karhandla-Bramhapuri.
TOI has been raising the issue of mitigation steps on the said stretch for a long time. Facing legal challenges in the NH7 & NH6 case, both the forest department and the PWD were aware of the guidelines, and the court orders issued from time to time, which mentioned providing mitigation measures on roads passing through the wildlife corridors.
“PWD was allowed to widen the road despite the area being declared as a notified corridor as per the Tiger Conservation Plan (TCP) of TATR and the guidelines for linear development issued by the MoEFCC. This was a violation of the Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA) 1972. Permissions of the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) and National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) were also not sought before the expansion of the road,” Aditya Joshi, a wildlife biologist, said.
“These violations show that the existence of laws, court orders, and guidelines have no meaning unless the local forest authorities enforce these to conserve tigers and their habitats,” Shrikant Deshpande, green activist, said.
PWD officials said, “Work order for two underpasses at Saighata (300m and 150m) between Nagbhid-Bramhapuri on NH-353D was issued in October 2021. Even after a year, forest officials continue to point out some ‘silly’ errors which are delaying the project. The cost of the project has already escalated from Rs 42 crore to Rs 47 crore.”
The officials further added that two more underpasses (750m and 300m) are to be constructed near Ghodazari wildlife sanctuary. The Rs 78 crore proposal has been submitted online to the forest department. This proposal is also expected to meet the same fate, they said. PWD officials added that they need permission to fell 127 trees to give road diversion and to pave way for the construction of the two underpasses at Saighata, but it is not being granted.
“It is a double whammy of sorts for tigers. On one hand, the forest department is catching problem tigers in Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts. On the other hand, it is delaying permissions for wildlife overpasses thus putting wildlife in danger,” says Uday Patel, former honorary wildlife warden, Gadchiroli.
Summary of Mitigation Measures
Road Structures Length (in metres)
Nagbhid-Armori 2 300, 150
Chimur-Warora 1 750
Mul-Chandrapur 10 300 (6), 750 (4)
Bamni-Navegaon 5 300 (1), 750 (4)
Gadchiroli-Mul 1 30
Hinganghat-Mul 5 750 (1), 300 (2), 30(2)
Nagbhid-Mul 2 750 (1), 300 (1)