Progress can't be the excuse for vanishing forests

One of the major risks that the proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project poses to the wildlife thriving in the forested patches of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in Vasai and Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary, as per the Environment Impact Assessment report prepared by the National High Speed Rail Corporation, is poaching by construction workers, a report in this paper said.

This is because construction workers will have access to the forest areas along the corridor. Another concern raised in the report is that the undersea tunnel, to be constructed near the flamingo sanctuary, might have an adverse impact on birds.

The detailed report cites a number of devastating effects on flora, fauna and ecological imbalances. What is important though is that mitigation measures are also suggested from noise and vibration to be minimised to watching out for oil and chemical spills. We think a team is needed to ensure mitigation measures are indeed being practised.

These measures need to be given the same, if not more, importance than the construction work itself. Even during the work, regular inspection and analysis needs to be carried out about the impact on surrounding areas and how they are being affected.

If there are any adverse effects found work to address them has to run parallel to the project. This cannot be pushed on the backburner or put into a file, to be tackled later. At other times, it is dismissed as collateral damage while projects are on or the inevitable price we must pay for progress.

Let us change the narrative and ensure that the price we pay is less and less, in fact, negligible and our authorities find a way, however expensive or longwinded, to do this.

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