CM Uddhav Thackeray sought for alternative railway routes in Melghat

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in his letter to Union environment minister Piyush Giyal, has sought an alternative routes for the proposed gauge conversion of a railway line passing through the tiger habitat of the Melghat Tiger Reserve in Amravati district.

Thackeray said it would be appropriate to opt for alternative alignment of Akola-Khandwa line considering the long-term irreversible impact the work will have on endangered species like tigers.

He has referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “conservation of tigers is not a choice but an imperative” remark in the letters.

The railway line (stretching 176 km) passes through the corecritical tiger habitat of Melghat Tiger Reserve. The proposal includes open cutting of tunnels, involving cutting and blasting of rocks using heavy machinery and explosives, the chief minister said.

The plan also involves realignment away from existing track to ease sharp curves, which amounts to realignment and not just gauge conversion along the existing railway track, he said.

Spread over an area of 2768.52 sq km, Melghat Tiger Reserve is part of the Satpura-Maikal landscape which has the distinction of being one of the global priority tiger conservation landscapes.

The core area of the reserve has been made inviolate by rehabilitating 13 villages and 6 of these are located within 10 km distance of the existing railway line.