NGT disposes of plea opposing widening of NH-37 along Kaziranga

New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal has disposed of a plea filed by a wildlife activist opposing the widening of NH-37, which passes through Jakhalabandha and Bokakhat along the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, as it endangers the life of animals due to heavy traffic.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel noted that multiple proceedings on the issue were going on in various courts. The green panel noted that the issue was being monitored by the Supreme Court and proceedings were also pending in the Gauhati High Court.
“It is submitted that multiple proceedings on the very same issue before various fora may not be appropriate. In the circumstances, beyond the direction already issued and directions which we have issued to complete the tender process and the detailed project report in a time-bound manner, we do not find it necessary to keep the matter pending,” the bench, which included Justices Jawad Rahim and R S Rathore, said.
The plea, filed by Assam resident Rohit Choudhury in 2013, claimed that the expansion of the road will lead to accidents and death of wild animals.
On the last date of the hearing, the Assam government had told the tribunal that a budgetary allocation of Rs 11 crore had been cleared by the assembly to install sensor-operated automated traffic barriers to check accidental deaths of animals near the Kaziranga National Park.
The tribunal had earlier rejected the Assam government’s proposal to engage manpower instead of installing sensor-operated traffic barriers to control the accidental deaths of animals near the national park.
The state government had last year told the tribunal that it had already spent Rs 1.45 crore on installation of animal sensor barriers at Malini to check speeding vehicles on the NH-37. Another Rs 39 lakh would be needed to purchase two more thermal cameras for installation at the same place, it had said. (PTI)