Earlier, the proposal to expand existing meter gauge line through the Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR) was rejected amid hectic deliberations by the state government and the Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL).
The meter gauge was laid in 1959-60. From January 1, 2017, train operations stopped on Akola-Khandwa section, which was part of a 473km-long gauge conversion project from Akola to Ratlam. While work has been going on in other sections, it was stalled between Akot-Amlakhurd (78km) pending wildlife clearance.
In June 2022, the Railway Board gave up plans to expand the line through MTR on the grounds that it won’t be able to double the line in future owing to lack of permissions. Hence, SCR changed the track alignment.
The new alignment now will pass through Akot, Hiwarkhed, Sonala, Jalgaon Jamod, and Usami. The railways will have to construct 30km of an additional line. It will also include a 7km long tunnel.
The SCR submitted a fresh proposal for diversion of 49.60 hectares of forest land. Forest officials told TOI, “The new line will be developed by tunneling and, hence, needs several survey reports from safety point of view. Besides, the REC has noticed several anomalies (see infobox) in the proposal and hence returned it recently. The REC meeting was held on February 26.”
The new railway track passes through compartment numbers 625, 627 and 453 in the territorial forest of Buldhana. The fresh proposal was submitted by the state government on May 23, 2023 under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980. It is yet to be cleared for compliances.
The Buldhana deputy conservator (DyCF) has reported that the compartment 625 and 627 are undulating terrain having rich and diverse tree density. A railway tunnel nearly 30 metres deep below ground level is proposed in both these compartments. Compartment no. 453 is generally plain and the tree density is also low.
The report says, “The project passes through the wildlife corridor as per the tiger conservation plan (TCP) of MTR. As the tunnel will be 30m deep below the ground surface, there would not be any tree felling. The corridor is in active use by wild animals including tigers.”
As per the plan, over 8,000 trees will be felled in compartment nos 453 and 627. The DyCF has reported presence of tiger, leopards, nilgai, wild boar and other wild animals in and around the forest area proposed for diversion. “However, proper wildlife mitigation measures, land reclamation plan and debris disposal plan by the user agency can minimize the negative impact of the project,” the report states.
