Mangaluru: The second phase of the Mangaluru-Villupuram National Highway will be developed from Punjalakatte to Charmadi at a cost of Rs. 718 Crore, which is the grant sanctioned.
Speaking at a public hearing recently Dakshina Kannada District Deputy Conservator of Forests Dr. Y. K. Dinesh Kumar had stated that for the past one year, benchmarking central marking, surveys of trees to be cleared during development is still not completed and a fresh survey has to be conducted as per the Government’s order,
This new survey has been ordered with the aim of making the road more straight. Earlier, a 35-km-road was identified in the area, which will be reduced to 33.1 kms due to road straightening. The 9.5-km road from Guruvayanakere to Charmadi Road petrol pump in Ujire will be constructed as a two-lane road and will have a service road too. In urban areas, the road coverage is 30 metres. In the rest of the rural areas, the road coverage will be 18 to 20 metres. In all Rs. 88 crore has been set aside to provide compensation to those who lose their land during road development. For the development of this road, the National Highways Department requires 50 acres of road-bound land. The full picture of all these issues will be known only after the final phase of surveys are conducted. The new survey will start soon, said National Highways Department Assistant Executive Engineer Krishna Kumar.
After identifying the trees that come under the purview of departments like patta land, revenue, forest, etc., a committee will be constituted and a report will be submitted to the National Highways Department. The National Highways Department should then purchase these trees and take permission from the Forest Department and cut them down. The compensation for the same should be paid to the concerned. More trees on private land are likely to be identified during the new survey. Saplings will be planted and nurtured by the Forest Department on the old road that remains during road widening, if suggested by the National Highways Department.
Request from Sahyadri Sanchaya:
Kargil Forest architect Sachin Bhide of Mundaje, has made a special appeal to the Forest Department on behalf of Sahyadri Sanchaya in Mangaluru, which is a lover of the environment. Trees that can be shifted during road development should be planted elsewhere. Along with the road works, information should be obtained from the respective departments regarding the alignment of drain, drainage and MESCOM’s poles and wires and work should be carried out accordingly. He said the National Highways Department should give more space than the designated site to the Forest Department for growing trees.
Speaking to News Karnataka, Environmentalist Dinesh Holla said that preparations are on to cut down thousands of trees for highway widening. In order to save the unnecessary trees from being cut down, he requested that trees be relocated by planting the. in a suitable place. Four times the trees felled should be planted, he suggested.
