Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 October 2020 | 12(14): 16944–16953

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5957.12.14.16944-16953   

#5957 | Received 07 April 2020 | Final received 04 July 2020 | Finally accepted 11 September 2020

 

 

A highway to hell: a proposed, inessential, 6-lane highway (NH173) that threatens the forest and wildlife corridors of the Western Ghats, India

 

H.S. Sathya Chandra Sagar 1 & Mrunmayee 2

 

1,2 Wildlife Conservation and Nature Education (WildCANE) - Jakkanahalli Post, Mallandur, Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka 577130, India

1 sathyachandrasagar@gmail.com (corresponding author), 2 mrunmayee.amarnath@gmail.com

 

 

Abstract: A globally, extensive road network combined with increasing vehicular traffic poses a significant threat to local wildlife, environment, economy, and socio-politics.  India, with nearly 5.9 million kilometers of road, has the second-highest road network in the world; and has plans to exponentially increase its national highways.  In this study, we use a combination of collation of official documents, literature review, and GIS mapping to outline the possible environmental and socio-economic impacts caused by a proposed 6-lane national highway (NH 173).  This highway is set to cut through the low elevation evergreen forests of the central Western Ghats between Mudigere and Nelliyadi towns of Chikkamagaluru and Dakshina Kannada districts, of Karnataka State, respectively.  We further outline the insignificance of the project and recommend workable alternatives that could be considered in the wider public’s interest.

 

Keywords: Conservation, forest, India, linear intrusion, road, roadkill, wildlife.

 

 

Editor: Anonymity requested.   Date of publication: 26 October 2020 (online & print)

 

Citation: Sagar, H.S.S.C. & Mrunmayee (2020). A highway to hell: a proposed, inessential, 6-lane highway (NH173) that threatens the forest and wildlife corridors of the Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(14): 16944–16953. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5957.12.14.16944-16953

 

Copyright: © Sagar & Mrunmayee 2020. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.  JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: We did not use any external funding for this study.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Data and materials availability: Compensation data collected using RTI Act, which was used to create Fig. 2, has been attached in supplementary material under Appendix 5.

 

Author details: H.S. Sathya Chandra Sagar is a conservation scientist and a field biologist. He is interested in understanding the ecological impacts of various human activities and the effectiveness of conservation practices to protect biodiversity in tropical forests. He is currently a graduate (PhD) researcher at the Sound Forest Lab at the Nelson Institue and the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison.  Mrunmayee is a conservationist from Chikkamagaluru of India and the Executive Director of WildCANE, a grassroots NGO working in the Bhadra Kudremukh landscape of Western Ghats of India. She has been involved in conservation efforts for over 13 years in various capacities in India and is currently pursuing MPhil in Conservation Leadership course as part of the 2020-21 cohort at the University of Cambridge. 

 

Author contribution: Both the authors conceived the idea, HSSCS primarily wrote the paper and both the authors contributed to the final manuscript.

 

Acknowledgements: We thank all our associates for their constant support, guidance and inputs for the manuscript.  We thank Praneeth K Sargur for translating the abstract to Kannada language. We also thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.

 

 

 

Introduction

 

India has the second-highest road network in the world with nearly 5.9 million kilometers of road (MRTH 2019).  Between the years 2018 and 2019, with 10,855km added to the existing highway network, India had a 10% increase in national highways compared to the previous year (MRTH 2019).  Even with increased fuel economy standards, technological advancements, and continued roadway constructions, India’s vehicular traffic is expected to grow significantly beyond the year 2050 (Dulac 2013).  Globally, such extensive road network combined with increasing vehicular traffic has been identified as a significant threat to local wildlife, environment, economy, socio-politics, and indigenous culture & traditions (Goosem et al. 2010; Alamgir et al. 2017).

One such road is the proposed 6-lane national highway (NH-173) between Mudigere and Nelliyadi towns of Chikkamagaluru and Dakshina Kannada districts, of Karnataka State, respectively (hereafter Shishila Byrapura (SB) highway) to connect the coastal town of Bantwal with Chitradurga in southern India, through an entirely new alignment (NHAI 2018) (Fig. 1).  The entire project of 233km has been split into four workable packages, each under 100km (NHAI 2018).  Among them is the 68.9km stretch between Mudigere and Nelliyadi, with no existing highway in the alignment.  With a budget of 25 billion INR (330 million USD at 1 USD = 75.698 INR), the project is set to connect this stretch, currently without any motorable road between Byrapura Village near Mudigere and Shishila Village near Nelliyadi; where the mean elevation changes nearly 800m, within just 21.9km (Image 1).  SB highway is set to cut across contiguous forest patches of central Western Ghats – a biodiversity hotspot and a UNESCO world heritage site (Myers et al. 2000; WHC 2012) (Appendix 1).  Here we outline the inevitable socio-economic and environmental disaster expected to be caused by the project, its insignificance, and the recommendation of workable alternatives.

 

Environmental and socio-economic impacts

The highway is set to fragment a contiguous stretch of forest, protected under seven reserve forests (RFs), which connects Bhadra Tiger Reserve, Kudremukha National Park, and Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary (Appendix 1).  Building a 30m wide highway with crash barriers and other road safety features as proposed under the project could act as blockades for the movement and seasonal migration of wildlife (Raman 2011; Alamgir et al. 2017).  These areas hold one of the highest populations of Asiatic Elephants and also has been identified as an important Tiger corridor (Appendix 2; Elephant Task Force 2012; Qureshi et al. 2014; Project Elephant Division 2017).  Along with these charismatic and threatened mega-fauna, these RFs are home to five species of birds, nine species of reptiles, and 23 species of mammals (Appendix 4), listed under schedule I and II of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, giving them the highest protection under Indian law (WII-ENVIS 2014; IUCN 2019).  In addition, this landscape hosts an array of globally threatened and endemic species of flora and fauna (Myers et al. 2000; UNESCO WHC 2012).  The proposed highway, with high speeding vehicles, would disrupt wildlife movement, especially of Asiatic Elephants, potentially worsening the existing acute human-elephant interactions in the region (Fig. 2, Appendix 5); this threatens the safety of both the local community and wildlife (Puyravaud et al. 2019).  Opening up this relatively undisturbed patch of forest with no current access would inevitably lead to an increase in wildlife mortality through collision with speeding vehicles (Baskaran & Boominathan 2010; Raman 2011) and could provide access to poachers and smugglers to indulge in the illegal trade of wildlife and deforestation (Wilkie et al. 2000; Hughes 2018).  The construction of a highway has also been linked to the spreading of invasive species such as Lantana camara and Eupatorium Chromolaena odorata and cause forest fires due to an increase in fuel loads from invasive alien species (Goosem et al. 2010; Raman 2011).  At the same time, roads and highways lead to a change in animal behaviour where a few species will be attracted to the roads for scrap food from travelers while others would avoid regular movement, affecting their genetic diversity (Trombulak & Frissell 2000; Holderegger & Di Giulio 2010).

The area between Mudigere and Nelliyadi that is proposed for the construction of the SB highway lies on the high and moderate landslide susceptibility areas (Gupta & Basu 2017) (Appendix 3).  The highway is also planned to pass along the Kapila River, one of the main feeders for the Nethravathi River system – a major river that provides water to millions of people and agrarian systems.  Road construction, particularly in steep landscapes are associated with increased frequency of landslides and soil erosion (Goosem et al. 2010), resulting in heavy pulses of sediment into streams (Beevers et al. 2012).  Thus, construction of the SB highway would worsen the landslide susceptibility, also damaging the water catchment of the Nethravathi River system (Gupta & Basu 2017).  The problem would escalate during the monsoon period, causing irreversible damage to wildlife, the local community, and economy as seen during the monsoon of 2018 and 2019 at various parts of the Western Ghats (Ghosh 2018; Mrunmayee & Girish 2019).  Moreover, a 4-year long process of constructing a 70km highway through the forested landscape using earthmovers and blasting machinery, by itself, may permanently damage the area and disrupt wildlife movement.  No amount of economic benefits, compensatory afforestation, or financial allowance can outweigh or equal the exceptional value of these old-growth natural forests (Watson et al. 2018).

 

Insignificance of the project and recommended alternatives

SB highway has been proposed for construction without due consideration of environmental and socio-economic factors, stating that habitat fragmentation is unavoidable; however, the proposed alignment of the highway is parallel to two existing highways (Fig. 1); and most other roads between Bantwal and Chitradurga, are being widened and upgraded to national highways.  Furthermore, the alternative highway alignments that we propose are existing roads that are already being upgraded and almost trace the proposed highway.  By tracing our proposed alignment, Nelliyadi – Sakaleshpura – Belur – Chikkamagaluru – Chitradurga (Fig. 3, Appendix 6), we could: a) halt the environmental and socio-economic impacts from the newly proposed SB highway; and b) save the needless expenditure of 25 billion INR of taxpayer’s money on an unnecessary project.

 

 

Conclusion

 

Under the current global biodiversity crisis and climate emergency, protection of natural forests and landscape is crucial now, more than ever before (Watson et al. 2018; Lewis et al. 2019).  Increasing evidence also shows that inviolate spaces help in wildlife conservation and reduce human-wildlife conflict (Goswami et al. 2014; Srivathsa et al. 2014).  It is evident that the construction of the proposed SB highway would lead to (a) habitat destruction and fragmentation (Appendix 1), (b) threaten the survival of 37 species of schedule I and II animals potentially found in the region (Appendix 4), (c) worsen the existing acute human-elephant interactions in the region (Fig. 2), and (d) cause an array of environmental and socio-economic disasters.  We see no requirement for a parallel and a completely new 6-lane highway between Mudigere and Nelliyadi through the old-growth and sensitive forests, under a proposed new alignment.  This is because, there are suitable alternatives with significantly lower impacts (Fig. 3, Appendix 6), which we strongly urge the Government of India to re-examine.  Considering all the potential environmental and socio-economic impacts from the proposed SB highway, we request the concerned authorities to take necessary actions to consider alternative options.

For figures, image and Appendix 1,2,3 – click here

 

 

Appendix 4. Species listed under Schedule I and II of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, that are found in the landscape where the proposed Shishila Byrapura (SB) highway section of the NH173, is set to be newly constructed.

Taxa

Common name

Scientific name

Schedule

Birds

Great Pied Hornbill

Buceros bicornis

I

Birds

Indian Pied Hornbill

Anthracoceros malabaricus

I

Birds

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

I

Birds

Osprey

Pandion haliaetus

I

Birds

Southern Hill Myna

Gracula indica

I

Mammals

Gaur

Bos gaurus

I

Mammals

Malabar Civet

Viverra civettina

I

Mammals

Elephant

Elephas maximus

I

Mammals

Leopard

Panthera pardus

I

Mammals

Leopard Cat

Prionailurus bengalensis

I

Mammals

Gray Slender Loris

Loris lydekkerianus

I

Mammals

Indian Mouse Deer

Moschiola indica

I

Mammals

Indian Pangolin

Manis crassicaudata

I

Mammals

Asian Small-clawed Otter

Aonyx cinereus

I

Mammals

Sloth Bear

Melursus ursinus

I

Mammals

Tiger

Panthera tigris

I

Mammals

Bonnet Macaque

Macaca radiata

II

Mammals

Dark-legged Malabar Langur

Semnopithecus hypoleucos

II

Mammals

Dhole / Asiatic Wild Dog

Cuon alpinus

II

Mammals

Brown Palm Civet

Paradoxurus jerdoni

II

Mammals

Common Palm Civet

Paradoxurus hermaphroditus

II

Mammals

Small Indian Civet

Viverricula indica

II

Mammals

Indian Giant Squirrel

Ratufa indica

II

Mammals

Jackal

Canis aureus

II

Mammals

Jungle Cat

Felis chaus

II

Mammals

Brown Mongoose

Herpestes brachyurus

II

Mammals

Common Mongoose

Herpestes edwardsii

II

Mammals

Stripe-necked Mongoose

Herpestes vitticollis

II

Reptiles

Indian Flapshell Turtle

Lissemys punctata

I

Reptiles

Large Bengal Monitor Lizard

Varanus bengalensis

I

Reptiles

Indian Python

Python molurus

I

Reptiles

Indian Chameleon

Chamaeleo zeylanicus

II

Reptiles

Checkered Keelback

Xenochrophis piscator

II

Reptiles

King Cobra

Ophiophagus hannah

II

Reptiles

Indian Rat Snake

Ptyas mucosa

II

Reptiles

Spectacled Cobra

Naja naja

II

 

 

Appendix 5. The total number of compensation at the village level, for the elephant-caused crop loss within Mudigere Taluk of Chikkamagaluru District, given by the Karnataka Forest Department (KFD), Government of India.  These villages are part of the region through with the proposed 6-lane highway Shishila Byrapura (SB) highway of NH173 is set to pass through.  We collated the information on the compensation number through written requests to KFD.  The economic value of each compensation might vary based on the intensity of the crop loss faced by individual farmers.  At the village level, however, we have summed the number of cases to get the total number across eight years (2010–2018), irrespective of the economic value received.

Village names

Total number of compensation (2010–18)

Vurubage

580

B.Hosahalli

540

Kundhuru

492

Gutthi

386

Bankenahalli

290

Byrapura

285

Kogile

242

Bidarahalli

179

Hosakere

175

Saragodu

173

Kenjige

168

Binnadi

165

Mudhugundi

156

Palguni

135

Heggudlu

121

Meguru

101

Beranagodu

99

Maddrahalli

86

Mekanagadde

85

Tathkola

81

Tharuve

80

Koove

69

Byduvalli

49

Hesagodu

48

Darshana

46

Lokavalli

36

Hoysalalu

26

Bettagere

24

Baggasagodu

22

Jogannanakere

21

Kotragere

20

Kasaba Banaka

19

Hemmadhi

18

Halike

16

Indravalli

14

Hanumanahalli

11

Tripura

10

Hadhi Oni

10

Javali

9

Kannagere

9

Kollibylu

7

Angadi

7

Anajuru

7

Gowdahalli

6

Kelagodu

4

Kelaguru

4

Kademadakallu (naduvinamadakallu)

4

Kasaba Baluru

3

Halekote

3

Koluru

3

U. Hosahalli

3

Gonibeedu Agrahara

2

Kelluru

2

G Hosalli Agrahara

2

 

 

Appendix 6. A description of the alternative routes to the proposed Shishila Byrapura (SB) highway of NH173, using existing roads and highways that could be upgraded/are in due for an upgrade. National highways show the existing highways through which the proposed alternative route passes.  The distance in kilometres is the distance between Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada District to Chitradurga in Chitradurga District, which spans the entire stretch of the project.

 

Passing through Locations

National Highways

Distance (km)

1

Nelliyadi - Sakaleshpura - Belur- Chikkamagaluru -Chitradurga

75; 173

318

2

Nelliyadi - Sakaleshpura - Hanbal - Mudigere - Chikkamagaluru - Chitradurga

75; 173

329

3

Nelliyadi - Karkala - Agumbe - Shimoga - Chitradurga

169; 369

291

 

 

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