Sinlung /
25 April 2013

Mizoram Track Gets Green Signal

Guwahati, April 25 : The Union ministry of environment and forests has cleared the forest-diversion proposal for the construction of a broad gauge railway line in Mizoram.

The forest advisory committee gave the green signal in its meeting held in New Delhi recently with a condition that no trees would be felled in stretches of alignment where the track passes through tunnels and no muck would be disposed of in any of the streams, rivers or on any forest land.

The 51.3km railway line project between Bairabi in Kolasib district and Sairang in Aizawl district will cost Rs 2,384.34 crore for execution.

Altogether 74.48 hectares of forestland will have to be diverted to construct the track. A total of 22.300 trees will have to be felled in Aizawl and Kolasib forest divisions for the project.

The committee stated as the project, whose deadline in March 2015, would generate large amounts of muck as it involved construction of tunnels on hilly terrain.

For this, the NF Railway has been asked to prepare detailed muck utilisation and disposal plan.

The state forest department has cleared the proposal stating the track is not passing through any national park, wildlife sanctuary or protected area.

The state government has been asked to constitute a committee under the chairmanship of local conservator of forests with representatives of NGOs in the field of forest, wildlife or hydrology.

This panel will visit the site during construction and submit half-yearly report to the regional office of the ministry.

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