Kerala environmentalists petition Centre against Wayanad tunnel road project

Thiruvananthapuram: A forum of Wayanad based environmentalists have approached the Centre against granting clearance to the proposed twin tunnel project citing the serious environmental impacts.

Even as environmental clearance for the project is still pending, the Kerala government has finalised the tendering for construction of the proposed 8.7 kilometre tunnel road from Meppadi in Wayanad to Anakkampoyil in Kozhikode.

The Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi (WPSS) has written to the Union minister for forest and environment Bhupender Yadav to reject the Kerala public works department's application for clearance for the project. WPSS alleged that false information was provided in the applications submitted by the state government.

The project lies close to Mundakkai and Chooralmala, which recently witnessed major landslides. The region experienced landslides earlier also, which points towards the fragility of the area. The tunnel construction will be the last nail on the coffin of Wayanad, WPSS said in the petition.

WPSS pointed out that the state had given false information on various aspects including the presence of protected area, eco-sensitive zone and scheduled area in the land required for the project, displacement of people and cost benefit analysis. No detailed expert study was conducted. The total land required for the project is around 51.370 hectare, of which 34.304 hectare is forest land, which means 61 percent project land is forest land, WPSS pointed out in the petition.

Meanwhile, the state level expert appraisal committee which is reviewing the application has decided to hold further discussions with the state public works department on the project on the basis of a set of additional information submitted by the government.