MoEF panel nod for Wayanad twin tunnel project
Kochi: The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change has recommended the Kozhikode-Wayanad twin tunnel project for environmental clearance.
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The recommendation, subject to conditions, was made at a committee meeting on May 14 and 15.
The Rs 2,043.74-crore Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi twin tube tunnel road project aims to reduce the travel time between Kozhikode and Wayanad. The project, which includes an 8.753-km long twin tube tunnel and a four-lane approach road, has drawn opposition from environmental organisations.
The EAC observed that the tunnel alignment passes through a highly vulnerable terrain prone to landslides, where massive landslides occurred in 2019 and 2024, necessitating precautions during and post-construction to avert vibration-induced landslips.
"All the recommendations made by the assessment of possible impacts due to blasting on various surface structures and surroundings during excavation of the road tunnel by the CSIR Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CSIR-CIMFR) shall be implemented, and the status of compliance report shall be submitted along with the six-monthly report," the EAC observed.
The govt should establish the Appankappu elephant corridor, preferably by direct acquisition of six plots of land adding up to 3.0579 ha, as these plots have forest on either side, and acquisition or prescribing compatible land use would effectively increase the existing tenuous linkage to about 1 km.
It facilitates the movement of elephants from Camel Hump mountains (lying in South Wayanad, Kozhikode and Nilambur North forest divisions) towards the larger forested landscape of Nilambur South division, Karimpuzha Sanctuary and Silent Valley National Park.
"A detailed monitoring should be commissioned on the small population of endemic and endangered bird Banasura Chilappan in the Sky Islands above the proposed tunnel.
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The monitoring should look at the genetic vulnerability of the species due to disturbances caused by the tunnel, if any," the EAC adds.
In its previous meeting held in April, the committee deferred its clearance and sought details on studies conducted on geology, geotechnical aspects, landslides and water drainage by expert institutions. The state-level expert appraisal committee had cleared the project in March.
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