Guwahati: The Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has given wildlife clearance to Guwahati Ring Road in Assam, a small portion of which would go through the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary in the city.
A total of 7.12 hectares of forest land in Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary and 44.60 hectares of non-forest land in ESZ of Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary would be used for the construction of the Guwahati Ring Road including a bridge over Brahmaputra River (Northern Bypass from Baihata to Sonapur).
The Guwahati Ring Road is being seen as a significant initiative aimed at improving connectivity and reducing traffic congestion in the region.
Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary in Kamrup district of Assam comprises three reserve forests, viz., Amchang RF (53.18 sq km), South Amchang RF (15.5 sq km) and Khanapara RF (9.96 sq km). Amchang was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 2004, with a total area of 78.64 sq km. The sanctuary is bounded by the river Brahmaputra in the North, National Highway 37, and Sonapur in the South, the urban agglomeration of Guwahati city in the West, and Digaru Railway Station in the East.
The minutes of the meeting reveal that 800 metres of road length would pass about 50 metres inside the Sanctuary.
The Wildlife Institute of India suggested a change in the alignment so that the road passes along the boundary to ensure the protection of the Sanctuary. There are a lot of settlements on the other side of the road. “Therefore, the road would protect from encroachments into the sanctuary. Due to the height proposed for the animal passage structures, there won’t be a tunnel effect for the elephants” the minutes reveal.
The proposal has been recommended by the Chief Wildlife Warden, the State Board for Wild Life, and the State Government. The animal passage plan has been prepared in consultation with the State Forest Department, Scientists of Wildlife Institute of India, and the User Agency and submitted along with the proposal. The animal passage plan includes two underpasses of over 200 m span and one bridge of over 150 m span and height of 8 m, nine box culverts. A slight change has also been made in the alignment.
The Committee while recommending the clearance said a comprehensive study shall have to be conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India WII or any other relevant agency to assess the potential impact of the project, particularly on the movement paths of Elephants and other mitigation measures.
Dr. H. S. Singh, Member of NBWL highlighted that normally the animal passage plans are prepared to take into consideration the movement of larger mammals like tigers, elephants, etc. “There are smaller mammals such as jungle cats, foxes, etc. which have an occupancy range of about 2-3 sq. km. Therefore, any linear infrastructure project should have several animal passage structures per km for facilitating the crossing of such smaller mammals and other wild animals” Singh was quoted in the minutes of the meeting.
The PCCF and Head of Forest Force Assam informed that the concerns raised by Dr. H. S. Singh have been addressed in this project. There are about 50 such structures proposed in this stretch which are of about 6 metres span and with height ranging between 3-6 metres. These structures would facilitate the movement of small mammals and reptiles across the road.
The Committee also said the widening of the existing NH-27 from Basistha to Jorabat section shall integrate the construction of at least 4 Km elevated road from Jorabat towards Sonapur to restore the traditional elephant corridor connecting Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary with Marakdola reserve forest and Aprikola reserve forest and beyond.
There will be no adverse impact shall be caused to wild animals and their habitat and Minimal tree felling shall be resorted to in the forest land, it said.
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It said no construction activities shall be carried out between sunset and sunrise within the protected area and two percent of the project cost shall be deposited as Corpus fund for Human Elephant Conflict (HEC) mitigation and Conservation of Wildlife to be used by the Chief Wildlife Warden to implement HEC Mitigation Plan and Wildlife Conservation Plan.
It said the animal passage plan, prepared and submitted with the proposal, would be implemented in totality.
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