Forest clearance haunts widening of 1.5 km NH 169 between Sanoor and Beluvai near Karkala

Widening of NH169 between Mangaluru and Karkala faces roadblock due to forest clearance delay on Chilimbi Hills stretch.

Widening of Mangaluru-Soolapur national Highway 169 between Bikarnakatte in Mangaluru and Sanoor near Karkala has hit a roadblock for about 1.5 km between Sanoor and Beluvai for want of forest clearance on Chilimbi Hills stretch.

If the clearance was given to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) facilitating widening work on the Chilmbi Hills stretch, the entire 12 km highway from Pulkeri Junction in Karkala to Alangar near Moodbidri becomes four-lane, said Narasimha Kamath, former president of Sanoor Gram Panchayat and Heddari Horata Samithi leader.

Mr. Kamath told The Hindu that efforts to get forest clearance to widen the highway in the Chilmibi Hills stretch have been going on for the last two years. The inordinate delay in getting the clearance has affected the project. traffic diversion at the foot of Chilimbi Hills on both the ends has been causing many accidents, he regretted.

Chilimbi Hills comprises evergreen forests wherein several streams originate. At present, the two-lane highway passes through the undulating terrain of the hills. The area comes under the Kundapura Division of the Forest Department.

NHAI officials claimed that the application for diverting about 3.6 hectares of forest land for highway widening has already been submitted to the Forest Department. The Authority was hopeful of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) clearing the same at the earliest.

Forest Department sources however said the NHAI proposal was yet to reach the field offices concerned through the Parivesh portal of MoEFCC. As and when the proposal was submitted, the department was expected to dispose off the request within 90 days, sources said.

Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Kota Srinivas Poojary, who visited Sanoor on Friday to inspect the work progress and address villagers’ concerns, directed the NHAI to expedite the forest clearance proposal.