PANAJI
Over 150 scientists and academicians with domain expertise have written to the director of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) seeking a study on the 'cumulative' impact of the three Centre-sponsored infra projects affecting protected forests on the environment and wildlife.
The demand was raised by the scientists and academicians in a letter to the WII director earlier this week after the State government appointed the renowned wildlife institute to recommend mitigation measures following the agitation demanding scrapping of the projects.
WII Dehradun has been mandated by the Goa government to carry out the study and recommend mitigation measures for the railway line double-tracking project only.
The scientists however have said the other two projects -- four-laning of the national highway and the private power transmission project -- and their cumulative impact with the railway expansion must be included in the study for it to be meaningful.
These three projects will have a range of potential effects on the local ecology, have considerable spatial overlap and are connected in function, their letter said.
"Mitigation measures cannot be effectively suggested without first studying cumulative impacts,” it adds.
The letter also extensively refers to a reviewed critique of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) reports for the three projects, which was submitted some months ago by a group of 31 scientists to a peer-reviewed journal.
The scientists also point out that the MoEF&CC appointed 'Western Ghats Expert Ecology Panel has marked the area where the projects are coming up and affect as an Ecologically Sensitive Area.
"The protected area is also home to Schedule-I and Schedule-II species such as the tiger (Panthera tigris), gaur (Bos gaurus) and Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata)," the scientists state in the letter.
They have also pointed out that two highly endemic dragonfly species -- Idionyx gomantakensis and Cyclogomphus flavoannulatus -- and the reclusive ant specie -- Parasyscia Indica -- are found in the areas where the projects are proposed.
