The Karnataka State Wildlife Board headed by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday approved the controversial Hubbballi-Ankola rail line which is expected to cause massive environmental damage in the eco-sensitive Western Ghats.

The Hubballi-Ankola railway is slated to run from Hubballi in Dharwad district to Ankola in Uttara Kannada district over a distance of 168 km, cutting through dense forests of the Western Ghats. In particular, the railway line is proposed to be laid in two biodiversity hotspots – the Kali Tiger Reserve and Bedthi Conservation Reserve. The proposal for the railway line includes cutting down nearly 2.2 lakh fully grown trees. 

Previously in 2005, multiple authorities including a Central Empowered Committee appointed by the Supreme Court had rejected the proposal after the activists had gone to court as part of a case filed in 1999. It was first mooted in 1997 and has since been faced with major backlash.

J Manjunath, presently the Secretary of the Wilderness Club which had gone to court, said, “We, the petitioners of this case, would like to inform that this project has been rejected by every agency – from  CEC, to National Tiger Conservation Authority, to the National Board of Wildlife earlier only. Why do they want this now after 15 long years in litigation? We will go back to the Supreme Court and fight it out.” 

He alleged that in 2005, when the Railways was carrying out the project survey, hundreds of trees were felled for making houses for the staff. “More than Rs 200 crore of public funds were spent even before permission was given from forest department,” Manjunath added.

According to previous estimates in the Railway, a total of 995.64 hectares of land is required for the project, including 595.64 hectares of forest land, 184.6 hectares of wetland, and 190 hectares of dry land. 

Activists who have been advocating protection of the Western Ghats for the last two decades said that they will approach the court yet again.