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Projects in Western Ghats threaten hinterland tourism: Stakeholders to Javadekar
The projects are “directly opposing Goa’s 25-year vision to revamp the economy”, the letter stated.
Around 150 tourism stakeholders have written to Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) Prakash Javadekar and Minister for Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel, raising ecological concerns about three Central government projects that are likely to adversely impact the development of hinterland tourism in the coastal state.
The projects are “directly opposing Goa’s 25-year vision to revamp the economy”, the letter stated.
Goa is set to lose around 55,000 trees and 185 hectares (ha) of pristine forest cover in the Western Ghats for these projects such as the expansion of National Highway 4-A (NH 4-A), double-tracking of a railway track, and a new power transmission line.
The railway project is expected to wipe out around 98 ha, or over half of the total green cover that is likely to be lost because of these three projects.
The environmentalists have taken an exception to the concessions offered by the South Western Railways, which operates the line that is slated for double-tracking.
Though the railway authorities have submitted an undertaking and have made provisions for eight underpasses for the crossing of wild animals in consultation with the state forest department, these concessions have failed to impress the environmentalists.
“These projects will lead to widespread deforestation in the area. The future development of hinterland tourism will be adversely affected. Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park are an integral part of Goa’s nature tourism. The current community-based tourism initiatives within the protected areas will be destroyed. It will damage the local economy and deny an opportunity to make Goa a global leader in sustainable tourism,” the letter stated.
“Biodiversity conservation, which can be a major tourist attraction, requires locals’ support for the implementation of various community-driven programmes and make them champion the conservation causes,” it added.
This is the second letter addressed to Javadekar, urging him to reconsider the environmental clearances.
Earlier, environmental researchers and conservationists had written to the minister, warning him of severe ecological consequences if these projects see the light of the day.
Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park are the state’s oldest and largest bio-diverse reserve and are home to many tourist attractions such as the 12th Century Tambdi Surla temple carved out of basalt rock, gurgling Devil’s Canyon, and Dudhsagar Falls.
“The state’s tourism industry is staring at an uncertain future, as the Central government is overlooking the ecological concerns and making hazardous industrial concessions,” said Pooja Rani, co-founder of Khoj-aao! Adventures, a member of the Responsible Tourism Collective, and one of the signatories to the letter.
“Hinterland tourism has a huge potential to create jobs. Dudhsagar Falls has a massive captive mass market. The authorities need to promote small scale, locally-owned initiatives for agriculture and nature tourism sectors,” said Ashok Malkarnekar, a partner at Dudhsagar Plantation.
The projects, which have been in the works for the past two years, were approved during the 57th meeting of the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) under the MoEFCC on April 20.
The meeting was held via video-conference amid the nationwide lockdown restrictions, which were enforced from March 25 to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.
