Meanwhile it has now come to light that Railway Ministry had ‘advised’ the Kerala government to ‘seek specific approval’ from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to carry out a survey for the proposed Thalassery-Mysuru Railway Line.
The Ministry’s directive came in the wake of the Kerala government requesting the Ministry to move the MoEFCC for granting clearance to conduct a detailed survey in the forest area for preparation of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the proposed new line.
Sources said that the Kerala Chief Minister’s Office had pushed for the proposed Thalassery-Mysuru Railway Project in spite of the objections raised by the Department of Forests and Wildlife over serious ecological and social issues. The CM’s office had directed the department concerned to carry out the survey of the project.
The proposed line passes through the forest belts of both Karnataka and Kerala. Mandatory environmental clearance have to be obtained from multiple agencies, including the regional office of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and finally secure the recommendations of the National Board for Wildlife, chaired by the Prime Minister, and also the Supreme Court. The project passes through the 49-km stretch in the forests of Kerala region and through 35 km of ecological sensitive zones, including 11 km of the thick Nagarahole National Park in Karnataka.
So who is telling lies and misleading the people? Pratap Simha who said that Railway ministry has assured that the project is cancelled or the railway ministry which has ask the Kerala government to go ahead and get the required approvals?
It is sad a infrastructure projects have to face the protests only because Non-BJP governments are taking up the work.
Siliguri- Newmal – Hasimara- Alipurduar railway line is undeniably one of the best train routes in India and it passes through such a huge number of forests and wildlife sanctuaries namely Mahananda Wildlife sanctuary, Chapramari forest, Jaldapara Wildlife sanctuary, and Buxa Tiger Reserve along with numerous stream crossings. The Train route recently converted to broad gauge and thus has minimum traffic but is worth all every moment for the fascinating amounts of flora and fauna one can find there.
No body protested bullet train even though 77.45 hectares of forest land was required. Why no protest? Only because it is a pet project of Modi? Shame on the protesters that they are blocking India’s progress only because a they don’t like a certain party to take up development. For some mindless people “development” is copy write of Modi and everything else is only corruption and destruction.
Looks like mindless ppl are commenting while these ppl plague our state of Karnataka. They come here make money and ruin everything and go back to their state. No wonder they will push for these projects.