Central Government issued a directive to the Karnataka state asking for its agreement to permit night traffic on the highway passing through Bandipur Tiger Reserve. This recent development follows a backdrop of continuous dialogue among concerned stakeholders since 2009, when multiple incidents of roadkills in the reserve sparked a movement towards restricting vehicular flow. The debate centers around the necessity to safeguard one of India’s most wildlife-rich forests against the economic burden, a longer detour would mean.
The Origin – Roadkill Issues and Subsequent Measures
In 2009, due to frequent roadkill incidents in Bandipur, the administration deemed it necessary to impose a restriction on vehicular traffic between 9 pm and 6 am on both national highways crossing through the reserve. However, objections raised by the Kerala government led to this order being retracted, only to be reinstated by the Karnataka High Court in July 2009, following the filing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
The Appeal To Supreme Court and NTCA’s Intervention
The issue of night traffic ban escalated to the Supreme Court and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), in a report submitted in March 2018, advised maintaining the existing restrictions. However, before NTCA’s report, the Ministry of Road Transport had already requested Karnataka government for their agreement on a proposal to make the road operational for 24 hours, with specific mitigation measures implemented. These included constructing elevated sections of the road over 1-km stretches for wildlife passages beneath, and setting up 8-foot-high steel wire barriers along the highway.
The Reasons Behind the Debate
The argument for revoking the restricted hours on the road is centered around the claim that the substitute road is approximately 30 km longer and passes through hilly terrains. This, in turn, results in increased travel time, fuel consumption, and pollution. Moreover, supporters of the night traffic through the tiger reserve argue that wildlife is endangered even during day-time traffic, hence fencing and creating underpasses would be a better solution.
The Impact on Wildlife
The development of roads directly influences the biodiversity of the affected area, posing an imminent threat to wildlife. Animals such as cats can freeze when blinded by bright headlights at night. Eventually, animals learn to avoid these highways, resulting in the fragmentation of their populations and restriction of their gene flow due to these man-made barriers. This further contributes to habitat loss.
India’s Policy On Wildlife Conservation
In 2013, The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), the top advisory body to the central government on wildlife-related matters, stated its disapproval towards the construction of new roads passing through protected forests. However, the board agreed to the idea of expanding existing roads with sufficient mitigation measures, only if no other possible alignments were available. This was accepted by the government and considered as policy from December 2014 onward. Additionally, in 2018, NBWL mandated every road/rail project proposal to include a plan for wildlife passages following guidelines framed by the Wildlife Institute of India.
Regardless of these measures, it is believed that solutions such as building underpasses might not suffice in dense wildlife-rich forests where numerous animals compete for space. These conservation bodies play significant roles in maintaining the delicate balance between economic growth and environmental preservation, which continues to remain a countrywide challenge.
