The CEC committee, headed by member-secretary Amarnatha Shetty, has recommended the apex court to revoke the permission granted
The Central Empowered Committee, constituted by the Supreme Court, in its report has stated that it "does not find any justification for undertaking a project (doubling of the railway line between Tinaighat-Castlerock in Karnataka and Kulem in Goa) which will destroy the fragile eco-system of the Western Ghats".
The CEC had examined the feasibility of three linear infrastructure projects - doubling of the railway line between Karnataka and Goa, Goa-Tamnar transmission project of laying electric lines and four-laning...
more...

of existing NH-4A (between Anmod in Karnataka to Mollem in Goa) - within the boundaries of wildlife sanctuary and national park in the state of Goa.
The report, which was submitted to the apex court on April 23, states that doubling of the railway line will only marginally enhance the capacity of the 'most inefficient section of the railway network' passing through ecologically sensitive and bio-diversity rich tiger reserve, including two wildlife sanctuaries and a national park.
The Goa Foundation, which had pleaded with the Supreme Court to constitute CEC had claimed that the three linear projects would result in the diversion of about 170 hectares of forest land (128.28 hectares for the railway project, 31 hectares for the NH 4A project and 11.54 hectares for transmission project). A total of 37,000 trees in the world’s eight eco-sensitive zones is estimated to be felled in Goa alone.
The CEC committee, headed by member-secretary Amarnatha Shetty, has recommended the apex court to revoke the permission granted by the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC NBWL) for doubling of the railway track, which is proposed to pass through 120.85 hectares of the protected area from the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary, Goa and Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka.
The report has also rapped the standing committee of NBWL for gross underestimation of the requirement of virgin forest land for implementation of the project. It says during the implementation stage, 'much more than 120.87 hectares' of the estimated forest land is likely to be destroyed.
"The increased number of trains and wider openings through the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats will further fragment the habitat and will make the movement of wildlife much more difficult and dangerous. It is bound to result in high casualties among the wildlife,” the report states.
The CEC members argue that Goa port constitutes only 20% of rake movement from Goa to Karnataka, and the alternative ports like Krishnapatnam in the east have better rail connectivity to hinterlands of Karnataka.
Wildlife conservationist Giridhar Kulkarni said CEC has taken a strong stand in favour of wildlife by not recommending railway doubling project within both Karnataka and Goa and they have considered the representations of the public very seriously.
Four-lane highway
The CEC has, however, proposed the apex court to consider approving the proposal of widening of NH-4A after the Goa PWD and National Highways Authority of India have incorporated the changes in the earlier plan. It has recommended an increase of animal overpass and underpass. CEC has also suggested conversion of plain terrain be converted to a 4-lane elevated road.

'The South Western Railway (SWR) double-tracking is not for coal transportation. It is for passengers and tourism,' Sawant also said
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said the South Western Railway track-doubling project, spread across Goa and Karnataka, would be a game-changer for the tourism industry and passenger traffic while arguing that project's critics were wrong about claiming that the project would be used largely for coal transportation.
The chief minister, who is expected to conduct a high-level meeting with officials of the Goa government and the South Western Railways next week,...
more...

also said new technology would be used to reduce the pollution caused by coal transportation along the rail tracks currently.
"Yes, coal is being transported along the track for now, but we are looking to minimise it and use technology for reducing pollution. It will be a game-changer," Sawant told reporters in Margao town.
"The South Western Railway (SWR) double-tracking is not for coal transportation. It is for passengers and tourism," Sawant also said.
"Yes, coal is being transported along the track for now, but we are looking to minimise it and use technology for reducing pollution. It will be a game-changer," the chief minister said.
SWR's rail track doubling project from Castle Rock railway station in Karnataka to the Tinai ghat railway station in Goa is one of the three projects being opposed by Opposition parties and civil society groups, claiming the projects would lead to the axing of nearly 50,000 trees in the reserved forests in and around Mollem village in South Goa.
The opposition to the projects also stems from the argument put forth by critics, that the doubling tracking of railway tracks and expansion of the National Highway 4 would lead to increased transportation of coal imported to the Mormugao Port Trust in South Goa to steel mills in Karnataka's Bellary region.
The entire track doubling project stretches over a tract of 342 km out of which a 90 kms stretch is located in Goa. Out of the 90 km stretch, the SWR has managed to complete double tracking along only 7 km in the state, in wake of the prolonged protests.
SWR officials have also maintained that the track doubling was not being carried out to exclusively facilitate coal transport, but also to enhance passenger, logistics and military transport capabilities along the sector.

PANJIM: The proposed double-tracking of the railway line from Tinaighat to Castlerock (Karnataka) to Collem (Goa), will pass within the mountain terrain of Dudhsagar waterfalls instead of widening of the existing single track in a bid to ensure that the touristic and scenic beauty of the waterfall remains intact.
This information was provided by officials of the South Western Railways to the Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee (CEC) during their inspection of the proposed site.
The three-member CEC on Friday inspected the proposed double-tracking route from Tinaghat to Castlerock to Collem via a...
more...

Special train arranged by the officials. 
Sources said that during the inspection SWR informed the CEC that the proposed line will pass within the mountain terrain of the Dudhsagar waterfall. “The proposal is basically to ensure that Dhudhsagar waterfall, which is a major tourist attraction, is not distrubed,” sources said. 
Sources added that while much of the work of double tracking has been undertaken in Karnataka, in Goa no work has begun. “The work in Karnataka has been done without disturbing the Kali tiger reserve,” sources said.
The CEC members are slated to inspect the Tamnar power transmission line site on Saturday, following which they will also visit Mormugao Port to oversee its functioning with regards to coal handling. 
Thereafter CEC will hold a meeting with Chief Secretary Parimal Rai and other officials to seek the State government’s point of view. The Committee members will also hear NGOs opposing the project.

Amidst massive protests in Goa against the doubling of a railway track in the Western Ghats, the Indian government on Wednesday announced that it was going ahead with the project. Taking to Twitter, Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar announced the National Board for Wildlife’s (NBWL) approval to the Tinaighat-Castlerock-Caranzol railway doubling project proposed by South Western Railways (SWR). Activists had earlier said that the project would result in several trees being felled and disturb the habitat in the ghats.
“Happy to inform that in its 60th meeting, NBWL has recommended the proposal for Tinaighat-Castlerock-Caranzol railway doubling of South Western Railways, Karnataka with certain mitigation measures as advised by the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun,” Javadekar said.
...
more...

According to a note by the SWR, the single line between Hospet in Karnataka and Vasco da Gama in Goa was built in 1900 and connects industrial areas in Hospet and Marmugao port in Goa, besides various other tourist destinations in the two states. The SWR said that the line had become saturated due to accelerated industrial growth and an increased influx of tourists.
The site inspection report by the Forest Department, stating the purpose of such a project, said, “The doubling is proposed to transport coal and also in the interest of tourists to visit Goa”.
The report also outlined that the “proposed area falls under the Castle Rock Wildlife Range which is part of Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary and which is under the administrative control of Kali Tiger Reserve.”
The area is inhabited by tigers, leopards, black panthers, gaur, sambar deer, chital, wild boars, reptiles, amphibians and a variety of birds. It is also endemic to the castle rock night frog (Nyctibatrachus petraeus), the report said.
Activists who have been opposing the project pointed to the site inspection report, which said that 5,413 trees were marked for felling for the proposed project in Kali Tiger Reserve alone. Speaking to TNM on Thursday afternoon, wildlife activist Joseph Hoover said, “The project will disturb the entire habitat (in the ghats). Already, we have lost three gaur and two sambar deer recently due to the single rail line in Tinaighat.”
“The double rail project which passes through ecologically sensitive areas goes entirely against the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and Biological Diversity Act 2002 among others,” Joseph said, adding, “This could have been avoided.”

केंद्रीय पर्यावरण मंत्री प्रकाश जावड़ेकर ने कहा यह बताते हुए खुशी हो रही है कि अपनी 60वीं बैठक में NBWL ने दक्षिण-पश्चिम रेलवे के प्रोजेक्ट को मंजूरी दे दी है.
नेशनल बोर्ड फॉर वाइल्डलाइफ (NBWL) ने तिनाइघाट-कास्टेलरॉक-कार्नज़ोल रेलवे दोहरीकरण परियोजना को अपनी मंजूरी दे दी है. इस प्रोजेक्ट में 10.45 हेक्टेयर वन भूमि के डायवर्जन की संभावना है. जिसमें 9.57 हेक्टेयर कर्नाटक के पश्चिमी घाट में डंडेली वन्यजीव अभ्यारण्य का हिस्सा है.
केंद्रीय पर्यावरण मंत्री प्रकाश जावड़ेकर ने ट्वीट किया, “यह बताते हुए खुशी हो रही है कि अपनी 60 वीं बैठक में...
more...

NBWL ने दक्षिण-पश्चिम रेलवे के इस प्रोजेक्ट को मंजूरी दे दी है, जिसमें कर्नाटक के तिनाइघाट-कास्टेलरॉक-कार्नज़ोल रेलवे लाइन के दोहरीकरण के प्रस्ताव की सिफारिश थी. इस फैसले में भारतीय वन्यजीव संस्थान द्वारा भी हलाह लिया गया है.”
दक्षिण पश्चिम रेलवे के एक नोट के अनुसार हॉस्पेट और वास्को के बीच मौजूदा सिंगल रेलवे लाइन साल 1900 में रखी गई थी जो हॉस्पेट,मडगांव बंदरगाह, गोवा और कर्नाटक के विभिन्न पर्यटन स्थलों और औद्योगिक क्षेत्रों को आपस में जोड़ती है. पर्यटकों और औद्योगिक विकास के बढ़ते क्रम की वजह से सिंगल लाइन से डबल लाइन की जरूरत पिछले कई सालों से महसूस हो रही थी.
दिल्ली दंगे में सप्लीमेंट्री चार्जशीट फाइल, उमर खालिद-ताहिर हुसैन ने मिलकर रची थी साजिश
पर्यावरण मंत्रालय के वेबसाइट पर छपी एक रिपोर्ट के अनुसार काली टाइगर रिजर्व और अंशी वाइल्डलाइफ डिवीजन को कवर करने वाले प्रस्तावित रेलवे से उस क्षेत्र के बाघ, तेंदुआ, सांभर और अन्य जीव परेशान हो सकते हैं. यह क्षेत्र कास्टेलरॉक नाइट फ्रॉग के लिए भी प्रसिद्ध है.
इस क्षेत्र में पहले से ही अलनवर लोंडा वॉस्को और लोंडा खानपुर रेलवे लाइनें हैं, जहां आए दिन कई वन्यजीव दुर्घटनाओं का शिकार हो जाते हैं. इस प्रस्ताव की वजह से अकेले काली टाइगर रिजर्व में ही कुल 5,413 पेड़ों की कटाई होगी. रिपोर्ट के अनुसार रेलवे लाइन का दोहरीकरण मुख्य रूप से कोयले के ट्रांसपोर्ट के लिए प्रस्तावित किया जा रहा है.
वन्य जीव वैज्ञानिक कर रहे हैं विरोध
इस परियोजना का कई वन्य जीव वैज्ञानिक विरोध कर रहे हैं. उनमें से एक ने हिंदुस्तान टाइम्स से बात करते हुए कहा है कि यह रेलवे लाइन पर्यावरण की एक संवेदनशील क्षेत्र से होकर गुजरेगी, साथ ही इसी जगह NH4A की परियोजना को भी शुरू किया जा रहा है. यह दोनो परियोजना वन्य जीव और जैव विविधता के लिए खतरनाक साबित होगा.
कास्टेलरॉक क्षेत्र को 2011 में दांडेली वन्य जीव अभ्यारण में शामिल किया गया था, क्योंकि यह क्षेत्र अपने एनवायरनमेंट के हिसाब से बाघों, धोलों और कई विलुप्त होने वाली वन्य जीव प्रजातियों के उत्थान के लिए बेहतर है. कास्टेलरॉक गोवा में एक संरक्षित क्षेत्र है इसलिए यह मध्यम पश्चिमी घाटों में सबसे बड़े वन्यजीवों के आवास में से एक है.