New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday gave additional four weeks time to the Centre to respond to its suggestion for developing an alternative route as the National Highway in order to ensure that the roads passing through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve are shut down permanently, a move that would keep endangered species away from harm by exposing them to highway traffic.

A Bench of Justices Rohinton Nariman and Surya Kant also allowed Ministry of Road Transport and Highway, along with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to file its response in the matter. The Top Court on Aug.7 had directed that the ban on night traffic would continue to operate.

Out of NH-212 connecting Kollegal in Karnataka with Kozhikode in Kerala via Mysuru, 24.5 km goes through the core area of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Of which, 19.7 km is in Karnataka and 4.80 km in Kerala. The other portion of the road — 10.10 km — also goes through the Wild Life Sanctuary, being part of the buffer zone. Out of this, 4.50 km runs through Karnataka and 5.6 km through Kerala. As such, as much as 34.60 km of road passes through the protected area.

Observing that since the issue related to nothing less than the core area of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, the Court had then ordered that the night traffic ban on the National Highway 212 (passing through Bandipur Tiger Reserve) should remain in operation.

It had then asked the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to give suggestions within four weeks as to how NH-275 and State Highway number 90 (Mysuru-Virajpet Road) can be developed into a National Highway.

“What needs to be done is the strengthening of an alternative route. Therefore, we direct the Union Government’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in consultation with the Ministry of Environment and Forest to file an affidavit within four weeks with suggestions on the closure of it in long run,” the Bench said.

The petitioners contended the roads through the core and buffer zones of tiger conservation areas ought not to be permitted at all. They cited Section 38V of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 which stated the core or critical tiger habitat areas of National Parks and Sanctuaries were required to be kept as inviolate for the purposes of tiger conservation, without affecting the rights of the Scheduled Tribes or such other forest dwellers.

National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Ministry of Environment & Forests suggested to maintain the status quo — that is, ban on night traffic on the stretch between 9 pm and 6 am. The Karnataka Government, on its part, maintained that steps have been taken to strengthen the alternative route to the city of Mysuru, which comprised part NH-275 and part State Highway 90.

The advocate representing Karnataka submitted that an alternative route is being developed at a cost of approximately over Rs.70 crore. The alternative roads are via Hunsur-Gonikoppa-Kutta-Manandavadi-Kattikkulam and via Konanur-Makutta and Madikeri-Kutta. Karnataka advocate submitted that all these roads are in a very good condition and all the roads, connecting North Kerala, are in use during both day and night and the alternative road is  only 35-km-long.