Wildlife Board defers nod to Arunachal highway near Myanmar border, Tadoba mining over tiger corridor concerns

The panel also discussed that the environment ministry’s wildlife division and the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, will work on a scheme for sloth bear and Gharial conservation. It was also noted during the review that the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the International Big Cat Alliance would work for organising a global summit at the end of 2025.

On standard guidelines, the minutes of the meeting noted, “There should be standard guidelines for deciding project proposals. Particularly in cases involving mining areas, decisions shall be made strictly on merit and in accordance with established policies.”

Speaking on the issue, a member said on the condition of anonymity, “Projects should not be approved using different yardsticks. Yes, each proposal presents a different situation. However, with so many proposals for projects in the eco-sensitive zone of parks and sanctuaries submitted, a uniform standard should be developed.”

According to another member, there was a discussion to prioritise the conservation of different habitats and wildlife other than tigers, which is a keystone species. “There was a discussion on the need to conserve grassland habitats, wetlands and the biodiversity dependent on these habitats,” the member said.

“A key concern raised pertains to the prioritisation of conservation efforts. While Tiger Reserves receive significant attention, other ecological assets such as lakes and wetlands, which are critical for biodiversity and migratory birds, shall also be given due importance. Conservation planning must take a holistic approach, incorporating various ecosystem components rather than focusing solely on a few flagship species,” the minutes of the meeting stated.

The Arunachal Frontier Highway is proposed through the core zone of the Namdapha Tiger Reserve and will need 310 hectares of forest land. However, under the Wildlife Protection Act, national parks and core zones of tiger reserves are out of bounds for such a project.

Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said the project shall be approved as a “special case” as it was in the border area, as per the minutes, albeit after examining mitigation plans to reduce biodiversity loss and animal passage plans.

Arunachal Pradesh’s chief wildlife warden said the tiger reserve stretches for more than 100 km along India’s border with Myanmar. The animal passage has proposed underpasses for elephant movements, and in its submissions, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) sought to form a committee to inspect the site.

For the Durgapur opencast mine, there was divergence in the standing committee on whether the project required its nod. The opencast mine of Western Coalfields Limited in Chandrapur needs 80 hectares of forest land to extract 8 million tonnes of coal reserves. However, it falls in tiger migration paths, known as corridors, connecting Tadoba reserve with Kanhargaon and Tipeshwar sanctuary.

Representatives of the ministry said it perhaps did not fall in designated corridors, and thus may not require the standing committee’s approval. However, non-governmental member H S Singh said the project did fall within a tiger corridor. The other non-government member, R Sukumar, said that corridors were being identified on the movement of one tiger, and thus may cause a lot of confusion in the future.

The standing committee then deferred approval, and asked for a proposal review with the Maharashtra Forest Department.

Moreover, the committee approved renovation works for the Asolamendha irrigation project, also in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district. The project needs 315.74 hectares of forest and falls in a tiger corridor connecting Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve-Kawal Tiger Reserve (Telangana), Tipeshwar sanctuary in Bramhapuri and Chandrapur forest divisions