SC ALLOWS ROAD WIDENING TO GO AHEAD IN KANHA TIGER RESERVE

NEW DELHI: In a break from recent instances of environmental activism by the judiciary, the Supreme Court has refused to restrain the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) from widening a road that links the Pench and Kanha tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh.

The 10-km stretch on NH7, which the NHAI plans to expand, is home to India’s dwindling tiger population. Aptly identified as tiger corridor, it was the setting for Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book.

“Not only trees and tigers but human lives are also important… The finding is that the road is in pathetic condition. Life and liberty of a human being is also precious,” a bench headed by Chief Justice of India HL Dattu said, upholding a Bombay high court order that permitted the NHAI to widen the road without a forest clearance by the Centre.

In upholding the HC order, the apex court has gone against the recommendations of a committee appointed by it. In a report in 2009, the SC-appointed centrally empowered committee had said that construction on the road would cause “irreparable damage to a critical wildlife habitat”. It had noted that the expansion could lead to heavy vehicular traffic on the stretch endangering the wildlife.

The Bombay HC, in February this year, junked the report and allowed the road to be widened after noting a spate of fatal accidents on the stretch.

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