Survey finds 18 highly protected species in alignment of Thane-Borivali twin tunnels

Mumbai: A recently conducted ecological survey has found the presence of 18 highly protected species in the alignment of Thane-Borivali Link Road (TBLR) which involves constructing twin tunnels under the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) for about 10 km

Mumbai: A recently conducted ecological survey has found the presence of 18 highly protected species in the alignment of Thane-Borivali Link Road (TBLR) which involves constructing twin tunnels under the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) for about 10 km.

Survey finds 18 highly protected species in alignment of Thane-Borivali twin tunnels

The ‘Ecological Sensitivity Report’ of the area, prepared by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), has found eight species of mammals, three species of reptiles, and seven species of birds -- all accorded the highest protection under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972).

By the MMRDA’s admission, the study is limited in both scope and duration and a more detailed assessment “may suggest the presence of further avifauna (bird) species protected under Schedule-I of Wildlife Act.” However, the study also concludes in the same breath that “there will be a negligible disturbance to the wildlife of the tunnel since the minimum depth from the ground level is 25 metres.”

The mammals include leopards, rusty-spotted cats, small Indian civets, four-horned antelopes, Indian Chevrotain (mouse deer), jungle cats, golden jackals, and sambar deer. The reptiles include Indian marsh crocodiles, monitor lizards and Indian pythons, while the observed avifauna includes Indian peafowl, osprey, white-bellied sea eagle, peregrine falcon, Indian vulture, white-rumped vultures and Egyptian vultures. The larger SGNP landscape is home to over 248 species of birds, 43 species of mammals, and 38 species of reptiles.

It is on the basis of this report that the MMRDA hopes to obtain wildlife clearance for the project, from the union environment ministry. Mahendra Singh, executive engineer, MMRDA, said, “We have done the biodiversity study at the request of the forest department, even though the project does not require any breaking of land inside the national park. The tunnels will exit the ground outside of the park’s boundaries and there will be no disturbance to the animals. This is a limited study, yes, but we will conduct further assessments if instructed by the state or Centre.”

Experts who reviewed the document at Hindustan Times’ request criticised it heavily. “This is a very shoddy study, which completely goes against the precautionary principle of sustainable development. The conclusion that these animals, birds and reptiles will not be impacted by tunnelling is completely speculative. Some of them, like the golden jackal and vultures, are included in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s red list of threatened species globally, and so you need to produce real evidence that they will not be impacted in any way. There is no real rigour or method to this report,” said city-based ecologist Anand Pendharkar.

It should be noted that the TBLR project will not be subject to an environmental impact assessment (EIA), as is usually done for major state and national highways. Publicly available documents, however, show that this was not the case initially.

Both the TBLR and the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (which is being executed by the BMC and will also pass through SGNP) projects had separately applied to the Union environment ministry in 2017, seeking environment clearance (EC) for ‘Category-A’ projects.

Unlike Category-B projects, these require mandatory public hearings, an EIA report and scrutiny by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s (MoEFCC). Both of these were subsequently delisted or rejected by MoEFCC on identical grounds: that the roads are not state or national highways, and hence do not require ECs.

This move is within the ambit of the law, as ‘road building’ is not covered under the EIA Notification. But given the unique nature of these projects – the first ones wherein tunnels are being proposed under a protected area anywhere in the country – experts and environmentalists have been insisting on the applicability of environmental clearances, in addition to clearance by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).

It is surprising that a 2+2 road being built under a National Park and it’s ESZ has been exempted from obtaining environmental clearance by labelling it as a Development Plan road, even though it is not shown on the DP. The more fundamental point to understand about these tunnels is that they are not needed. The government is connecting the eastern suburbs and western suburbs via the metro, and there is also an elevated corridor for vehicles planned above Ghodbunder Road. Like with the coastal road, this project is meant to serve only the interests of private vehicle owners. In addition, a parallel set of twin tunnels are also proposed between Goregaon and Mulund,” said Debi Goenka, executive trustee, Conservation Action Trust.

Environmentalists and citizens have argued that instead of piecemeal clearances, authorities need to assess the cumulative impact of both the link roads on the larger ecology of SGNP. In fact, such a study had also been recommended by the MoEFCC in the case of GMLR before it was delisted, according to publicly available documents.

The Virar-Alibag Multi-Modal Corridor and the Delhi-Mumbai Dedicated Freight Corridor will also pass through SGNP, and while the MoEFCC has scrutinised and sanctioned those projects individually, the question of how multiple linear intrusions into the national park will impact its ecology still looms large.

“An isolated survey which observes the presence of wildlife along one project, in this case, Thane-Borivali, and somehow concludes that biodiversity will not be affected is myopic, ad hoc and won’t be able to estimate the cumulative impact of the several linear projects that are diving the forests of SGNP,” said Pendharkar.