GUWAHATI
The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has approved an elevated road over nine corridors used by the animals of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, usually during heavy floods.
Announcing this decision in a post on X, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the NBWL also approved two elevated railway corridors along the southern boundary of Deepor Beel on the outskirts of Guwahati. The beel, a wetland and important bird area, is a Ramsar Site.
The 35-km elevated road project, worth ₹6,000 crore, along an existing arterial highway skirting the northern boundary of Kaziranga’s core area had been in the offing for years. According to the blueprint submitted to the Centre, the four-lane elevated road will have two tunnels, one with an estimated length of 1.5 km and the other of 600 metres.
“Today marks a significant day for Assam as the NBWL, the apex body in India for all wildlife-related matters, has approved five very, very important projects,” Mr. Sarma said, thanking Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav for the “huge” development.
One of the two elevated railway corridors close to Deepor Beel will cover 13.31 hectares while the other will take up 0.3 hectares, the Chief Minister said.
The existing railway track beside the wetland has been mired in controversy since it was allegedly pushed through decades ago despite opposition from locals and environmentalists. High-speed trains have knocked down many elephants that move between the wetland and the partly-hilly Rani Reserve Forest across the tracks.
The railway track is being doubled and electrified.
Two other projects approved by the NBWL for Assam are the Guwahati Ring Road project and the Assam Mala project road along the India-Bhutan border.
