Concerns over felling of trees for railway project in MP

Environmentalists have raised concerns over the proposed felling of over 1.24 lakh trees for a railway project in Indore and Khargone districts of Madhya Pradesh, which aims to improve the region’s connectivity with Mumbai and southern parts of the country.

According to officials, the Western Railway is currently working on the 156-kilometre Mhow-Khandwa track conversion project, which will see the line converted from narrow gauge to broad gauge. The affected forest area falls within the Mhow-Sanawad section.

Mhow sub-divisional forest officer (SDO) Kailash Joshi informed The Hindu that the forest, located in the 454 hectare area in Mhow and Choral subdivisions, has about 1.4 lakh trees. Of the 454 hectares, about 400 are in Indore district while the remaining fall in Barwaha forest division of Khargone.

“This is an estimated number as the exact number will be clear after the ongoing marking work is completed. So far, we have marked 35,000 trees in Mhow subdivision,” he said.

“The proposal has received phase 1 approval from the Union Environment Ministry following the recommendation of the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority. We are now preparing a soil survey report for the area to determine the impact and associated costs. The railways will have to submit a compliance report for the Centre’s final approval,” the official involved in the proposal said on condition of anonymity.

“Phase 1 approval is conditional and an important condition is that the land remains as forest land and the railways must plant trees on both sides of the project,” the official said, adding that the forest department will also get 916 hectares of land in nearby Dhar and Jhabua districts.

Compensation

More than 9 lakh trees will be planted with the compensation paid by the railways, he said. “Besides planting, the Railways will also pay for the maintenance of the trees for 10 years,” the official added.

The official claimed that the project will help the region connect with the western and southern parts of the country. “This line will mainly facilitate connectivity to the regions of Hyderabad and Mumbai. Despite Indore being a major city, the region still lacks good rail connectivity and people have to travel to Ratlam, Bhopal or even Gujarat to travel by train,” the official added.

However, environmentalist and lawyer Abhinav Dhanodkar said that regardless of the importance of the project, felling such a large number of trees can be avoided. “The Mhow-Choral forest is among the most prominent and dense forests in the region, and the project aims to cut down most of it. The number can be significantly reduced if the railways build bridges and more tunnels. It will increase costs slightly but will certainly save the region’s wildlife,” Mr Dhanodkar said, adding that the electric line is also likely to have an impact on the region’s ecology.

“The forest department is talking about planting trees elsewhere, but that will not help this region. And cutting down mature trees and planting saplings are not the same,” he said.