By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 23: Choosing development over the protection of environment, the state government will slice off 2.548 hectares of land from the ecologically sensitive Balpakram National Park (BNP) in Garo Hills for the expansion of the State Highway 4 from Maheshkhola to Kanai.
A notification issued by the Commissioner and Secretary of Forest & Environment Department, Pravin Bakshi said, “In exercise of the powers conferred under sub-section (6) of Section 35 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and after consultation with the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife, the Governor of Meghalaya authorises the Chief Wildlife Warden, Meghalaya to grant a permit for diversion of 2.548 hectares of land within the Balpakram National Park for up-gradation to two lane of a portion of the State Highway-4 from Maheshkhola to Kanai located between existing kilometers 59.270 to 85.970 and having a total design length of 1.520 km within the national park under SARDP-NE Phase A”.
The diversion granted is subject to several conditions recommended by the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife.
One of the conditions is that since the area falls under wildlife area, there should not be any hindrance to the movement of animals. Another condition stated that night vision signboard should be erected by the user agency for the crossing zones.
Some other conditions are that rumble strips should be constructed at the vulnerable areas to reduce the speed of vehicles; the user agency should not dump the excess earth cutting into the Kanai river as it may affect the flow; labour camps should not be set up within the BNP area and they will carry out the work from outside the BNP area and that the user agency should construct within the ROW (within the prescribed limit).
The user agency has been also asked to implement the animal passage plan, prepared in accordance with the guidance document – “Eco-friendly measures to mitigate the impacts of linear infrastructures on wildlife”.
The BNP is situated near the tri-border of Garo Hills, Khasi Hills and Bangladesh. It was declared as a national park by the then Governor of Meghalaya Bhishma Narain Singh on January 31, 1986 and inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on December 27, 1987.
Balpakram is a place of immense importance in the folklore of the Garos and considered sacred by the Garo forefathers and ancestors. It is believed that the soul of a dead person passes through Balpakram in its journey to afterlife.
Balpakram’s unchartered jungles, massive cliffs and powerful rivers have birthed many stories of the paranormal type, including that of the stalking “mandeburung”, or man of the jungle, straight out of the cryptozoologist’s handbook.
The BNP is also a treasure trove of animal and plant life, including the endangered wild water buffalo. It is designated as the “land of the spirits” in local folklore.