Tiger conservation body directs NHAI to seek wildlife clearance for highway development
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) Monday directed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to seek wildlife clearance for the upgradation of the National Highway 748AA which passes through protected areas in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa.
The direction comes in the wake of a representation filed by wildlife conservationist Giridhar Kulkarni, who raised alarm about the consequences the project will have on ecology.
The NH 748AA starts near Machhe connecting Piranvadi, Navage, Kinaye, Kusamalli, Jamboti, Kalmani, Kankumbi in Belagavi district of Karnataka and Poriem, Matnee and terminates at Sanquelim (near Shri Dattatreya Mandir) in Goa. In Karnataka, the project comes under the jurisdiction of the Belagavi territorial forest division.
