For commuters between Mumbai and Vadodara, the future looks brighter with reduced travel time thanks to the National Highway Authority of India's (NHAIs) ambitious Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway Project (also called the Eastern Peripheral Expressway). But, the environment will pay a heavy price for this as the project will swallow up 181 hectares of forest between Vasai and Talasari in Maharashtra, equivalent to the size of 70 international football fields.

Environmentalists have raised concerns over the rate at which green cover is being sacrificed for infrastructure projects. According to the proposal submitted to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) for an Environment Clearance, a total of 181.6506 hectare forest land along the 78.38 km-long stretch between Talasari and Vasai will have to make way for the eight-lane expressway which is part of the 379-km greenfield expressway between Vadodara and Mumbai under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase VI and the Phase II.

The proposed alignment passes through four talukas including Vasai, Palghar, Dahanu and Talasari of Palghar district and 51 villages in Palghar district. It also cuts through the Dahanu Taluka Eco Fragile Zone for 27.8 kms and falls within 10 kms of the Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary with the minimum distance being 1.8 km.



An aerial map showing the expressway passing along the Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra

'No concern for environment'

Wildlife enthusiast and Palghar resident Bhushan Bhoir said, "The expressway is being built simply to set up industries. If there is already a bullet train planned on the route, why is this expressway necessary? The government is forest lands with no concern for the environment." According to the proposal, there will be four flyovers, 15 vehicular underpasses, three overpasses, 26 pedestrian underpasses, and 47 cattle underpasses along with a 9.3-km service road and two truck parking lots across the expressway. According to the NHAI, the current traffic estimation on NH-8 (Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway) is 50,000-80,000 Passenger Car Unit and the average speed is 60-70 km/hour.

Development vs conservation

Wildlife conservationist and Director of The Corbett Foundation Kedar Gore said, "Policymakers must remember that forests outside the Protected Area network are equally important and fragmentation of these habitats can irreversibly destroy ecosystems and play havoc with ecological services. Development cannot always over-ride ecological concerns. Forests destroyed cannot be replaced by plantations. Infrastructure is necessary but questions need to be asked and circumventing forest areas should be a priority. If nothing else is possible, mitigation measures to allow wildlife movement should be adopted without delay. Unfortunately, mitigation measures can only reduce ecological damage, not eliminate it."

Founder of Sanctuary Nature Foundation and Editor of Sanctuary Asia Magazine Bittu Sehgal agreed. "Forests are infrastructures that provide massive financial returns. But the Surface Transport Ministry cannot comprehend this. They are punching holes in a sinking Titanic and India will suffer its ignorance and avarice," Sehgal warned. The mid-day had also carried a report on October 19, 2017 stating that the NHAI wants to clear off 95 hectares of lush-green forests between Thane and Palghar as it 'stands in the way' of the proposed 379-km Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway project.

27.8km

Length of the stretch in Dahanu Taluka Eco Fragile Zone used for the project

10km

Distance between the Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary and the expressway

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