Wildlife Board approves land diversion for 32 defence projects in Arunachal & other states
In Arunachal Pradesh, the committee cleared two major proposals by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) within the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary.
A file image of 84th meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife at IGNFA, Dehradun.
New Delhi, July 11: The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), chaired by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, has given its nod to 32 defence infrastructure proposals that involve diversion of land from protected areas and eco-sensitive zones across Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Ladakh, and Sikkim.
The approved proposals include the construction of critical infrastructure such as strategic roads, helipads, training areas, ammunition depots, and housing for troops and artillery regiments. A significant number of these projects are concentrated in Ladakh’s ecologically fragile Karakoram and Changthang wildlife sanctuaries.
In Arunachal Pradesh, the committee cleared two major proposals by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) within the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary. These include the 56-km Malinye-Balua-Kapuda road, which will require diversion of 111.29 hectares of forest land and 9.73 hectares from the Eco-Sensitive Zone, and the 20.88-km Kapuda-Phuphu road, involving 44.13 hectares of forest land.
"The animal passage plan for the present proposal should address the wildlife movement for the animals found in the sanctuary," NBWL member R Sukumar noted during discussions on the Malinye-Balua-Kapuda road project.
The committee said the user agency shall implement the animal passage plan and the mitigation plan submitted along with the proposal and "ensure that the animal passage structures are adequate for the movement of wildlife including terrestrial and arboreal mammals, reptiles across the road".
All projects were recommended subject to conditions such as preparation and enforcement of mitigation measures, restrictions on timing and area of operations, waste disposal plans and regular compliance reporting.
In Gujarat's Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary, two projects were cleared, one for construction of a Border Out Post (BOP) link road over 5.586 ha and another for setting up a helipad, living area and training space at RodasarLakki over 19.83 ha.
In Ladakh, the committee cleared over two dozen proposals, most within the Karakoram (Nubra- Shayok) and Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuaries.
These include 33.4 ha for an artillery regiment and field hospital at Bogdang; 47.6 ha for a forward aviation base at Shyok; 25.1 ha for housing Short Range Surface to Air Missile systems; 31 ha for an ammunition storage facility at Gapshan and 40.47 ha for an Army regiment at Nidder.
PTI