HC order paves way for work on Belagavi-Goa highway

The court, however, has stated that road-widening work can only be continued after the union government extends the validity of its in-principle approval granted earlier under the Forest Conservation Act. The validity has expired on December 31, last year.

“No material has been placed before it to establish that stretches of NH4A in Karnataka and Goa have been ‘artificially divided’ to bring the length of the highway below 100 km to avoid obtaining of prior environmental clearances under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986,” a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice S Vishwajith Shetty stated, while passing the order giving green signal to the road-widening work.

The court cannot grant the relief sought by the petitioners, the order stated.

The PIL had been filed by environmentalists Suresh Heblikar, Joseph Hoover and others.

However, the NHAI has been directed to approach the union government to get necessary clearances including the renewal of validity of the widening work.

The petitioners have also been given liberty to file their representation to the Centre to initiate measures preventing or minimising the adverse impact of the project on biodiversity.

It may be recalled that the four/six laning of the 86-km stretch between Khanapur and Anmod had come to a grinding halt since the PIL was filed against it in January 2019, after which the High Court in November 2019 had restrained the NHAI from continuing the work.

Claiming that a 13.32 km stretch of NH-4A passing through Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary will not be widened, the NHAI pleading with the High Court that about 70 per cent of the work was completed and sought clearance to resume the work.