Tirupati: Plans for construction of a four-lane national highway between Kadapa and Renigunta got a boost with a national panel giving its nod for diversion of forest and non-forest land from two eco-sensitive zones.The highway, to be developed as part of the Gati Shakti project, would cover a total stretch of 120km and is estimated to cost over Rs 1,500 crore. Permission has also been granted for creation of a designated tiger corridor for Andhra Pradesh. The decisions were taken by the standing committee of the national wildlife board, it was announced on Friday. The approval allows use of over 133 hectares of land, including 44.43 hectares of forest land and 10.93 hectares of non-forest land from the Sri Venkateswara Wildlife Sanctuary’s ESZ, and 33.22 hectares of forest land along with 26.70 hectares of non-forest land from the ESZ of the Sri Penusila Lakshmi Narasimha wildlife sanctuary. Additionally, 18.28 hectares will be taken from a tiger corridor linking the Nagarjunasagar Srisailam tiger reserve and the Sri Venkateswara national park. Despite the project’s strategic significance, concerns were raised by some committee members over insufficient wildlife mitigation measures and the potential loss of tree cover. The proposed highway is part of the Solapur-Chennai Economic Corridor and is intended to enhance connectivity between Kadapa, Annamaiah districts, Renigunta airport and key ports such as Krishnapatnam and Chennai. The highway development would proceed in two packages. Package-1 would cover areas from Kadapa through Bakarapet, Ontimitta, Pedapalle, Nandalur, Rajampet, and Orampadu, while Package-2 will span Pullampet, Owkuru Palli, Ayyapureddi Palli, Kodur, Shettigunta, Ballupalle, and Mamandur to Renigunta. For this, 1,066 acres of land would be acquired, a task entrusted to the state government. The highway expansion had been hitting road blocks due to pending forest and wildlife clearances. According to roads minister BC Janardhan Reddy, Stage-I forest clearance was granted on Dec 12, 2023, and the wildlife clearance issue was reviewed in the 81st NBWL standing committee meeting. A joint site inspection followed, involving officials from the ministry of environment, national tiger conservation authority, the Wildlife Institute of India, the state forest department and the NHAI. The minister said Rs 44 crore had been sanctioned for interim road repairs under the pothole-free initiative. “The construction would commence after all required approvals are in place.” He said AP had requested Union roads minister Nitin Gadkari’s intervention to speed up the process.
Source link
