IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU

(ORIGINAL JURISDICTION)
WRIT PETITION NO. OF 2019(GM-RES)PIL

Between
1. Suresh Heblikar, Aged 69, son of Sri
Balakrishna ,403, 18th Cross, 3rd Block,
Jayanagar, Bengaluru 560011

2. Joseph Hoover, Aged 58 years, son of James

Hoover
S/o #116, God’s Gift, 2nd Cross, 4th Main,
Giridhama Layout, Rajarajeswari Nagar,
Petitioners
Bengaluru 560098

3. J Manjunath , Aged 60 years ,son of.

B.V.JanakiramNaidu, 566, 21st Main, 36th
Cross, 4 T Block, Jayanagar, Bengaluru
560041

And
1. Union of India by its Deputy Inspector
General
Of Forest(WL) Ministry of Environment,
Forests and Climate Change,6th Floor,
VayuWing,IndiraParyavaranBhavan, Jor
Bag Road,Aliganj
NEW DELHI-110 003 Respondents
2. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests ,
AranyaBhavan, Bengaluru-560 003,

3 National Highways Authority of India

By its Assistant Commissioner,
Belagavi And CALA,NH4-A,
BELAGAVI-
 MEMORANDUM OF WRIT PETITION UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND
227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
The Petitioners in the above matter seeks leave of this Hon’ble Court
to file the Petition as Public Interest Litigation. The Petitioners have
no personal or vested interest in the matter.

1. Petitioner No.1, Mr. Suresh Heblikar, aged 69 Years, belongs to

Dharwad, a place known for arts, culture, poets and writers. He has
nearly twenty years of experience in Films and Environment. He is
also a powerful environmental voice in regional T.V channels
representing environmental issues. He is a recipient of several
awards like the Rajiv Gandhi Environment Award, Citizen
Extraordinaire Award, United Nations – OSIRIS F.A.O Award to
name a few from Govt of Karnataka, Rotary International and 19th
Agro film festival 2002, Nitra, Slovakia.
Petitioner No. 2, Mr. Joseph Hoover, aged 58 years is an
independent who had formerly worked in Indian Express, Deccan
Herald and Times of India for 24 Years and have been involved in
wildlife conservation for over three decades. He is a former member
of the Karnataka Wildlife Advisory Board. He has been successful in
engaging international cricketers in wildlife conservation, including
Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, RahulDravid amongst many other
icons. Instrumental in organising the Wildlife Service Award under the
Crickerters for Wildlife Conservation banner.

Petitioner No. 3, Mr. ManjunathJ , aged 60 years belong to an

agricultural family of Kollegal town in Chamarajanagar District. He is
the secretary of an NGO Wilderness Club, a registered society under
the registrar of societies, Bengaluru. He had been officially monitoring
Wildlife Offences in Chamarajanagar and Mysore District and
attending court cases on behalf of the Chief Wildlife Warden as per
letter dated 12-1-2004 for 8 years under the Chairmanship of two
Chief Wildlife Wardens, Karnataka. He has over 30 years of
 experience in Elephant corridor restoration and conducting several
legal workshops for department of Forest all over and Tamil Nadu.

2. It is submitted that there was a report on 22,000 trees being felled for
the widening of NH4A in Deccan Herald as of 30th Oct 2018. The
report highlighted that trees were felled in Khanapura-Londa as
DilipBuildconLtd, a Madhya Pradesh-based company has decided to
start the work on road widening. This news report alerted concerned
citizens of Belgaum and they conducted field visit to ascertain the
facts on field. It was seen that modern machinery were used to bring
down huge girth sized trees in these sections at a very fast rate.

3. There were multiple field visits by concerned citizens to the entire

stretch of NH4-A in Nov 2018 and Dec 2018 after local citizens
alerted us. The local groups at Belgaum were in the meantime
collating more information related to the tree felling.

4. The newspaper reports claimed that an overall 22,000 trees were

planned to be felled in this stretch. However, when we visited the
area, we saw many low girth sized trees being felled without any
marking on it. It is also brought to your notice that as many as 1 Lakh
trees of varying girth size will eventually be felled considering the very
dense forests that belongs to Eco Class I. During our field visit we
have seen many trees that were cleared and felled without any
accountability. Many of the tree species felled are species that do not
perform well in disturbed areas and is impossible to raise with human
intervention. When compensatory afforestation is being planned, the
rich species diversity that was lost due to this felling is never
considered. Compensatory afforestation is implemented
by monoculture of timber species in place of the diverse naturally
regenerated rich tropical wet evergreen forests!

5. As on 14th Jan 2019/16th Jan 2019, several petitions were submitted

to Sri. SANDEEP DAVE, IAS ,Additional Chief Secretary to
Government ,Forest, Ecology and Environment Department,
Karnataka Govt Secretariat, Bengaluru, Karnataka ,
 ShriVijayakumarGogi, IFS, Principal Secretary to Govt (Forest),
Forest, Ecology and Environment Department, Karnataka Govt
Secretariat, Bengaluru, Karnataka and Regional Director, Ministry of
Environment, Forests and Climate Change, KendriyaSadan, IVth
floor, E&F Wings, 17th Main Road, IInd Block, Koramangala,
Bengaluru by various individuals and civil society groups to stop any
large scale felling of trees on an immediate basis. The copies of the
same are produced herewith as Annexure A, A1 to A5. This
representation was given in view of the recent Public Notification
issued by the 3rd Respondent for Land Acquisition from private land
owners in and around various villages of Belgavai and surrounding
places vide Notification No. LAQ/NH4-A/CR-1675 dated 13-11-2018
the copy of which is produced herewith as Annexure ‘B’.

6. It is submitted that conserving the natural heritage of the country can

be only achieved by preserving the remaining natural forests with the
vast variety of flora and fauna, which represent the remarkable
biological diversity and genetic resources of the country” and
“Checking soil erosion and denudation in the catchment areas of
rivers, lakes, reservoirs in the “interest of soil and water conservation,
for mitigating floods and droughts and for the retardation of siltation of
reservoirs.” An ecosystem that is highly stable over a period of
several centuries may be highly fragile in a short-term perspective.
Even if there are several proposed meanings of stability and fragility
in an ecosystem, they basically relate to the relative changes in
species abundances and in species composition. Ecosystem fragility
relates to the degree of change in species. In view of the
environmental sensitivity and ecological significance of the Western
Ghats region and the complex interstate nature of its geography, as
well as possible impacts of climate change on this region, it has
become inevitable to conserve effectively the ecological fragile lands,
minimizing the reduction or degradation of these ecosystems and
biological diversity therein, which evolved through years.

7. Western Ghats stretch in Karnataka is home to one of the last

remaining tropical wet evergreen forests. Western Ghats is a
 biodiversity hotspot and is a declared world heritage site by
UNESCO. The flora in Very dense forest of Eco Class I belong to the
rare, endangered and threatened species that are difficult to be
raised and planted. Also, CAMPA does not consider any diversity
conservation of tree species that are lost due to felling. It is done with
timber species as a goal and is eventually executed as a monoculture
of timber species elsewhere. Thus, the ecological services lost due to
such large-scale felling of diverse very dense forest is never
compensated for by the user agency nor by the Forest department.
Most of these species of trees support the food security of large
biodiversity including elephants; which the monocultured species fail
to address thus increasing human elephant conflicts in the nearby
farmlands. Elephants and other ungulates are forced to come out in
search of food and water when the forests are depleted of its’ original
tree cover and diversity.Four Kali Hydel projects there have been
similar forest diversions that have resulted in loss of more than
50,000 HA of forests. This has already impacted the ecology of Uttara
Kannada and Belagavi in Western Ghats, affecting the rain cycle and
subsistence of local communities. A study done by IISc has been
reported in Deccan Herald newspaper on 31st Dec 2018 as per
Annexure ‘C’ which has revealed that there has been a decline in
evergreen forest cover from 61.8% in 1973 to 37.5% in 2016. During
the same time, the dry deciduous forest reduced from 7.82% to
2.24% in the catchment areas.

8. It is humbly submitted that as per the letter dated 21-11-2012 by

Chief Conservator of Forests, the diversion is for 93.568 Ha of forest
land from 0.00 Km to 84.12 Km in Belgaum and Haliyal forest
divisions. Out of the 93.568 Ha , 53.744 Ha is proposed to be
diverted in Belgaum Division and 39.824 Ha is diverted in Haliyal
division. It is submitted that this report mentions about an important
elephant corridor where the proposed road passes between Wildlife
Sanctuary and forests of Khanapur and Jamboti. This report in point
number 7 mentions that “ keeping in view the sensitivity of the
proposed forest area, consent of the Chief Wildlife Warden and
Principle Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and National Board
 of Widlife to be obtained for implementing the road widening for
NH4A”. The Karnataka Forest Department has not been able to
produce the consent letter of Chief Wildlife Warden and National
Board of Wildlife. It is thus submitted that the entire tree felling done
in the stretch of NH4A is hence illegal without the consent of Chief
Wildlife Warden, PCCF and NBWL. The letter No A5(3) GFL-CR-
104/2011-12 dated 21-11-2012 is hereby submitted as Annexure ‘D’.

9. It is submitted that while NH4A is from Belgaum to Goa, there is no

approval for road widening that passes through Mollem Wildlife
Sanctuary and Mahaveer National Park in Goa State. As per the
decision taken by the Standing Committee of the NBWL in its 28th
Meeting held on 20th March 2013, the approval of the National Tiger
Conservation Authority (in case of Tiger Reserves) and concerned
State Boards for Wildlife in case of non-Tiger Reserve for other PAs.,
must be obtained. The recommendations of the sub-committee is
herewith produced as Annexure ‘E’. Tree cutting in Karnataka prior to
procuring approval for widening in Goa inside two Protected Areas is
a hurried effort to conceal the illegality behind the act in Karnataka.

10. It is pertinent to note that after the tree felling inside some of the
critically eco fragile zones, NHAI has called for private land
acquisition notification in Deccan Herald as on 3rd Jan 2019. This also
proves that there is a hurried effort to clear every single tree inside
the forest land without even ensuring that the land acquisition
process for the entire length of NH4A is completely by involving all
stakeholders.

11. The total number of trees cleared is also estimated at a much

lower number than the felling executed on the field for the distance
mentioned. With the highly efficient machinery available for cutting
trees, several thousands are felled without much monitoring on site
by department of forests. The WRI satellite image maps clearly
states that “Most of the landslides in the Kodagu region happened
due to slope failure along the roads as observed in the following WRI
India generated maps of the landslide-affected areas.”. In the above
 scenario of unpredictable heavy rains in the region and loss of green
cover causing deleterious impacts on the slope stability, it is brought
to your notice that the unscientific tree felling of such large scale
would mean risking the lives of the local villages to the wrath and
impact of large-scale landslide and devastation in the name of
connecting urban cities across two states. Road widening in such hilly
and steep terrain has proven to cause landslides during heavy
monsoon similar to the landslides in Kodagu and Wayanad in Aug
2018. Taking from example of steep slopes on the Western Ghats
where slope stability is primarily taken care by the deep root
structures of the large trees with buttress roots. It is a proven
scientific fact that these older than 100 years grandmother trees in
the Western Ghats eco system not just prevent large scale landslides
but also provide ecosystem services of water harvesting, diversion
and management with leaf litter falling on the soil surface every year.
This leaf litter acts as a primary sponge to regulate the flow of excess
water that falls during monsoons. Every inch of leaf litter lost would
reduce the water holding capacity of the landscape thus reducing the
capacity of the first order streams in these landscapes to flow during
periods of no rain. Large-scale tree felling in such eco fragile
landscape will mean we are putting the entire population of humans
and other species at severe risk during the next heavy rain.

12. It is submitted that the area around this region where the trees
are being cut down is very important and vital as it brings very heavy
rains for Belgaum, Uttar Kannada and Dharwad. Rivers such as Kali,
Mahadayi, and Malaprabha originate in this region and is primary to
the existence of millions of farmers who are farming for subsistence
in this region. It is submitted that many of these regions are already
undergoing severe farming crisis with the burden of farm debts. Any
change in the water availability from these rivers due to human
interference could mean such large-scale developmental projects are
depriving the very existence of thousands of farmers dependent on
these rivers and landscape for their daily subsistence.
13. It is submitted that the recent floods and landslides of Aug 2018
in Kodagu has brought out the critical question of hill slope
management while implementing developmental projects. There were
two scientific reports supported with detailed satellite images that
proved how roads are the primary cause of triggering landslides. The
World Research Institute’s satellite images of the recent Kodagu
landslide and how roads have triggered these landslides as there
were overall 765 landslides in Kodagu and Kerala during Aug 2018
as per Annexure ‘F’.

14. It is hereby submitted that the “Inspection Note of Sri P Sridhar,

IFS, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests as of 10th Jul
2012 clearly states the critical nature of this landscape from the floral
and faunal perspective. The report dated 10th July 2012 mentions
about the stretch beyond Anmod is of thick evergreen forest where
ideal no road expansion should be permitted in such pristine
ecosystem. It also highlights how any additional area diversion in the
steeper gradient could have serious ecological ramifications. The
Inspection report dated 10th Jul 2012 is produced herewith as
Annexure ‘G’.

15. The stretch from 15.75 kms to 29.01 kms is proposed as

a 45m wide 4 lane road and from 36.933 kms to 60.710 kms as
a 26m wide 2 lane road. Nearly 14 kms of this road passes through
thick forest, which is home to elephants, tigers, leopards, black
panthers and king cobras. Many sections of this road are critical
wildlife corridors and are declared as Dandeli elephant reserve in the
Govt. of Karnataka notification vide letter no. F.No.7-2/2012-PE dated
27-03-2015. The proposed road passes through a critical elephant
corridor between Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary and forests of Khanapur
and Jamboti. This Elephant Reserve has been declared with its’
buffer zones clearly mentioned. Kanhapur, Belgaum, Haliyal are
divisions that are part of the buffer zone of elephant reserve as per
this notification. As per F. No. 6-10/2011 WL dated December 2012,
obtaining recommendations of the Standing Committee of NBWL
under the Wild Life (protection) Act 1972 with respect to the areas, for
 which this process is mandatory under the law, and also in
compliance to relevant Hon'ble Supreme Court orders. The copy of
the notification is produced herewith as Annexure ‘H’.

16. It is also submitted that there are critical elephant corridors in

this section that are the primary gateway of gene pool exchange for
elephants in the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary. Disrupting elephant
corridors have proven fatal in the past where it primarily triggers
increased human-elephant conflicts in the region due to severe stress
the pachyderms have to undergo for traversing through the
disintegrated ancient routes. Any highspeed highway or railway lines
have proven detrimental to the elephant population. It is impossible
for large elephant herds to cross the wide roads with calves. Often,
the calves get stuck in the divider and is exposed to speeding
vehicles. Any 4 lane highway is built for vehicles speeding at 100 Km/
Hour. Elephants and other species like ungulates, reptiles will not be
able to gauge the speed of the vehicle approaching to cross the wide
road. These species will have to wait for hours before crossing the
road and reaching out to areas with water availability. It is also in the
interest of nearby farmers that projects with such deleterious impacts
are avoided.

17. It is pertinent to note that wildlife all over the country where
there has been large scale linear intrusion are facing severe threat
due to speeding vehicles. Bandipur is an example where the night
traffic through a National Highway has been banned by the Supreme
Court considering the impact on wildlife. It is submitted that the
Ministry of Environment and Forests have also issued Notification
dated 4th October 2012 as per Annexure ‘J’ as a Protected area.In
WP No 17498/2009 before this Hon’ble Court has espoused several
important aspects pertaining to wildlife in the area in question and the
need to preserve and protect the same from being indiscriminately
exposed to risks of road traffic accidents from the heavy flow of traffic
flowing through the national highways cutting across the Bandipur
National Park and Tiger reserve. This area is also part of the Mysore
Elephant Reserve as declared by the Ministry of Environment and
 Forests , Government of India, giving utmost importance to elephant
conservation.

18. Night traffic restraints are there on all roads within Nagarhole
National Park vide order dated 11-07-2008. It is submitted that a
decision was taken by the monitoring committee that a 14 Kilometer
diversion shall be taken up to completely avoid the usage of 10 Km of
the existing Mysore-Manantavadi road passing through the
Nagarhole National Park to ensure greater protection of wildlife of the
region. The Hyderabad-Srisailam road passing through the
NagarjunaSagar- Srisailam Tiger Reserve is also closed from 9 PM to
6 AM.

19. It is pertinent to note that critical wildlife corridors are the

primary reason for imposing restrictions on traffic through National
Highways.

In WP No 17498/2009, the judgment order quotes “Apart from the

fact that some of the animals are getting killed, there has been a
change in their behaviour particularly in the case of elephants which
venture to go into the neighbouring farmers’ lands and villages
leading to man animal conflict such as damage to the crop and other
properties and human lives. The need for maintaining a peaceful
atmosphere during night hours so as to enable the nocturnal animals
to have peaceful passage through forest area has made authorities to
take steps to restrict the night traffic from 9PM to 6AM.”

20. It is submitted that roads have also known to trigger severe

man animal conflicts in the landscape when elephant herds have to
wait for long hours to cross certain sections of the highway with their
young calves. While Karnataka forest department is spending crores
of money to mitigate human-elephant conflicts from the state
exchequer, it is shocking to note that the department is considering to
further fragment the landscape by approving large scale linear
intrusion initiatives that create further conflicts. All these in spite of
clear directions by the High Court of Karnataka for protection and
 conservation of elephant reserves through the “Elephant Suo Motto
Case”.
21. Referring to the Elephant Suo Motto Case in the High Court of
Karnataka W. P. No. 14O29 / 2OO8 , upon the death of 25 elephants
around Bandipur-Nagahole National Park, The Karnataka task force
states that
a) “The elephant's penchant for feeding on cultivated crops brings it
into direct conflict with people. The most obvious patterns and
reasons of crop raiding, supported by the scientific studies, are the
following:

a) The rapid loss of natural habitat through conversion to

agriculture would result in escalated conflict as elephants
continue to treat the converted land as part of their traditional
home range. Habitat loss directly impacts only those clans or
males within whose home ranges the changes have taken
place.

b) The fragmentation of habitat increase the chances of this

long-ranging species to make contact with cultivated land
and indulge in crop raiding.

c) The elephants having tasted crops would continue to prefer

this source of food, irrespective of the availability of natural
forage in their habitat.

d) Sub-adult and adult male elephants typically have a higher

propensity as

e) compared to female-led groups to raid crops by moving out

from their native range.

f) Elephants may disperse from their native range due to local

habitat pressures, significant reduction in forage through
proliferation of unpalatable weeds or large-scale fire,
overabundance in relation to carrying capacity, or adverse
climatic events.

g) Due to strong inter-clan hierarchies, the elephants tend to

disperse into unoccupied areas which are general human
use areas.
 b) Man-animal conflict is bound to be an inevitable issue to be dealt
with by not only the experts in the field, but also by involving citizens.
Large animals, such as elephants need extensive space to move,
breed and feed. When their habitat is fast shrinking, they come in
conflict with human beings. Human development interfering with the
elephants' migratory paths, breeding grounds and core habitats,
would result in an obvious conflict with the elephants. Elephants
being migratory wild animals, they require large habitats connected
by well-established movement paths called "corridors".

c) It is found that man-elephant conflict could be addressed and

mitigated in four ways: (1) Introducing barriers such as trenches,
fences or repellents such as crackers, watcher squads etc., between
the elephant and man; (2) Change in cropping patterns around
elephant populated areas to include non-palatable crops, which do
not attract elephants; (3) securing corridors for elephant movement;
(4) Capture of rogue and problem herds. The first method is only a
temporary solution and ought not to impede migration. The second
and third measures are critical long-term measures that need to be
pursued for finding a permanent solution to man-elephant conflict.
The last measure should be resorted to only after identifying rogue
animals which could be captured and translocated. The issue of
translocation of herds of elephants from one habitat to another is a
matter which would require careful and comprehensive consideration.
Source: Law of Forests in India - by R.N.Choudhary - 3'dEdition.

22. It is submitted that in the write up called “Roadkill animals on

national highways of Karnataka”, as per Annexure ‘K’ published
in Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment by Wildlife
Institute of India, Dehradun on 4 April, 2011 “Highways passing
through national reserves/wildlife sanctuaries have adverse impact
upon wild animals. The present survey was conducted to estimate the
roadkills on the National Highways NH212 and NH67 passing through
Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Karnataka, India during summer and pre-
monsoon season at various vegetational levels. The roadkills were
monitored thrice a month in each habitat between January, 2007 and
June, 2007 and a total of 423 roadkills belonging to 29 species were
recorded. Reptiles were the most affected taxa (37.59%) followed by
amphibians (29.55%), mammals (19.39%) and birds (13.48%). The
variability in season indicated higher roadkills in pre-monsoon
(55.6%) compared to those in summer season (44.6%). According to
vegetation, the overall roadkill was 50% in mixed deciduous forest
and 22.40% in the teak forest and bamboo. Conservation and
management implications are essential to prevent the local extinct of
faunal and floral.”

23. It is submitted that the Basic Principle of MoEF’s recommendation

of the sub-committee on guideline for roads in protected
areas,F.No.6-62/2013 WL, Dated 22nd December 2014as per
Annexure ‘L’- states- “we wish to reiterate appoint articulated cleanly
in the National Wildlife Action Plan 2002-2016, which states that the
Ministry of Surface Transport to plan roads, highways, express ways
in such manner that all National Parks and Sanctuaries are bypassed
and integrity of the PA is maintained wildlife corridors also need to be
avoided on mitigative measures need to be employed.

In planning roads, within and in the vicinity (defined here as roads

that are situated inside and within I Km radial distance) of protected
areas, we recommend that following fundamental principles must be
followed in order of priority: Avoidance, Realignment, Restoration,

1, Principle of Avoidance: The foremost option would be to altogether

avoid areas that are within or in the vicinity of any Protected Area and
to find alternatives that are socially and ecologically more
appropriate.

2, Principle of Realignment: This follows as a corollary of the first

principle, Road projects must investigate and demonstrate that they
have considered other alternative routes that avoid natural areas of
high ecological value. This must be an integral feature of a project
proposal and implementation documents, Realignments must also be
developed in a transparent manner through consultation with local
communities affected by the routing and subject to ecological and
wildlife considerations, User agencies seeking clearances for roads
must demonstrate as to how they have taken these factors into
account, before their proposals can be considered for approval by the
SC-NBWL.

3, Principle of Restoration: In natural areas, existing roads that are in

disuse (e.g., old logging roads), or evaluated to be inefficient or
detrimental to their objects, shall be targeted for decommissioning
and subsequent ecological restoration, as the process of assisting the
recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or
destroyed,

It is further submitted that the Government of Karnataka has also

issued Notification bearing No. FEE 362 FWL 2014 dated 26-03-2015
as per Annexure ‘M’ setting up of Dandeli Elephant Reserve spread
over the districts of Uttara Kannada, Belgaum, Haveri and Dharwad.

23 A. That the unique location of Western Ghats forests along the

Arabian Sea on the west coast of India from Gujarat to
Kannyakumari, embracing Indian ocean has been a great ecological
gift to the peninsular India. About 65 major rivers are originating from
the Western Ghats irrigating millions of acres of land and produce a
diverse quantity of food grains to the South Indian population for
thousands of years. Western Ghats forests are bio diversity rich
forests, hub of the world comprising of great variety and range of
animals and rare plants that have been called as the biodiversity
hotspot of India. The forests that are situated between Goa and North
Karnataka are very rich and diverse and brings great amount of rains
to this area.

23 B. That from Belagavi to Ranebennur, to the length of 200 kms

and 45 kms width, the area has been of great value for the entire
Karnataka as it consists of four ecosystems like the Western Ghats,
the thorny tree bushes, the pond ecosystem and to the east the
grasslands. These landscapes are very rare and are called the
Ecotone belt that are capable of producing large variety of food
crops, millets, fruits and excellent variety of vegetables. These are so
because of the forests of this region and the spread of other
ecosystems which are interconnected to each other. Saving of the
forests of this region of the Western Ghats and Deccan Plateau is
very important as it provides food security to the entire of Karnataka.

23 C. It is submitted that there are four rivers namely Kali,

Malaprabha, Ghataprabha and Mahadayi originates in this region of
the Western Ghats and irrigates millions of hectares of agricultural
land, produces about 1500 MW of electricity by hydropower and
provides jobs for thousands of families both in agriculture and
industry. There are 33 sugar factories which crush sugar canes and
produce about 400 million tonnes of sugar every year. Hundreds of
thousands of farmers depend on these rivers which are alive only
because of the existence of the Western Ghats.

23 D. That by notification dated 13.11.2013 (directions issued under

section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986), the Government
of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests prohibited
developmental activities in the notified Ecologically Sensitive Areas of
the Western Ghats region with effect from 17-04-2013. Accordingly
mining, quarrying and sand mining, thermal power plants, building
and construction projects of 20,000 sq m area and above, township
and area development projects with an area of 50 ha and above and/
or with built up area of 1,50,000 sq m and above and Red category of
Industries. The impugned road widening project of NH 4A is being
carried out within the specified Ecologically Sensitive Area and the
total construction envisaged in the forest area alone crosses more
than 8,00,000 square meters which is 40 times excess than the
threshold limit. Therefore the impugned project is illegal and is being
implemented in violation of the notification dated 13-11-2013. A copy
of the notification dated 13-11-2013 is herewith produced as
Annexure A-1.
23 E. That the Government of India notification No. S.O 1533 (E)
dated 14th September 2006, mandates that no project shall be carried
out without obtaining the Environmental Clearance. The projects
specified in the schedule to the said notification can be carried out
only after conducting detailed Environmental Impact Assessment of
the project. The clearance obtained has fixed validity period and
cannot be used beyond the period of its validity. A copy of the
notification No. S.O 1533 (E) dated 14th September 2006 is produced
herewith as Annexure A-2.

23 F. That Schedule 7 (f) of the above notification states that it is

mandatory to obtain prior environmental clearance for expansion of
national highways greater than 30 km involving additional right of way
greater than 20 m involving land acquisition and passing through
more than one State. It is submitted that the draft DPR for the
impugned project was presented only on 20-06-2017 and no
Environmental Clearance was obtained by the respondents for the
project. The entire construction of the project is illegal as the same
being carried out in violation to the EIA notification 2006.

23 G. That the project location is situated within the territorial area of

Anshi National Park, Kali Tiger Reserve and Dandeli Elephant
Reserves. No activities other than conservation programmes are
permitted in these areas. The project is being carried out without
obtaining necessary permissions from the National Board of Wild Life
(NBWL) and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Therefore the project is illegal and is in violation of Sections 27, 29,
35 (5), 35 (6) and 38 (O) of the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972.

23 H. The project area is a critical habitat of endangered species like

King Cobra, Great Indian Hornbill, Wroughton Bat, Malabar Giant
Squirrel, Malabar Civet, Mouse Deer, Pythons, Pied Hornbill, Malabar
Hornbill etc. Hornbills are the creator of natural forests and felling of
large scale trees for the widening of the road and intrusion in to the
habitats of endangered species would cause disastrous effect on the
regeneration system and ecological balance of the Western Ghats.
Destruction to the habitats of Wroughten Bats would cause imbalance
in the regeneration of the forests and negatively impact on the food
security of the region.

23 I. It is submitted that honey bees in the Western Ghats are one of

the most important living species. Honey bees are super important
pollinators for flowers, fruits and vegetables. The destruction of forest
by felling large number of trees would result in “Colony Collapse
Disorder” and the bee population would be reduced or migrated and
eventually the Western Ghats forest would be perished. It will also
have negative impact on the agricultural production in the
neighbouring village.

23 J. That white topping of the road is unscientific in the forest area

and detrimental to the wild animals. No scientific studies have been
conducted by the project proponents before taking a decision to apply
white topping on the highway. During the monsoon season, the road
will become more slippery and becomes difficult for animal crossing.
On the other hand more heat emanates from the concrete road
during the dry season. There will be more stress on the animals due
to more vehicular traffic once the highway opened for commuting.
Human- animal conflicts are likely to increase due to invasion of
habitat. It is submitted that opening of the canopy cover will attract
more sunlight and changes the native conditions of the floral and
micro organism and will give space for invasive species like lantana,
camara, senna, spectablis etc. which are detrimental to the wildlife.

23 K. It is submitted that more than 1 lakh naturally grown trees were

felled from the project area in the guise of Stage-I clearance granted
by the Regional Empowered Committee of the MoEF. This part of the
Western Ghats region is classified as Eco Sensitive Area and more
specifically are Eco Class-I. The Western Ghats Ecology Expert
Panel(WGEEP) constituted by the Government of India in its report
has stated that the tree density in Western Ghats is around 800 trees
per hectares and most of these trees are not listed in the schedule of
the Tree Act. A copy of the relevant portion of WGEEP report is
herewith produced as Annexure- A-3.

23L. It is submitted that a study conducted and published in the

Journal of Forestry Research captioned as structure and floristic
composition of old growth wet evergreen forests of Nelliampathy
Hills, Southern Western Ghats shows that the stand density of trees
varied from 1714 to 2244 stems per hectare. The Western Ghats
region of the project area has either similar or has more density of
trees than of Nelliampathy Hills. A copy of the Journal is produced
herewith as Annexure A-4.

23M. That since the project is being carried out in the Eco Class-I
region of the thick evergreen forest of the Western Ghats, the density
of the trees could be deemed to be a minimum of 1000 trees per
hectare. These trees are all naturally grown species and are endemic
to the region. Therefore an approximate number of more than 1 lakh
trees have been felled by the project proponent without obtaining
necessary statutory permissions from the concerned Government
Departments.

23N. It is submitted that Stage-I Clearance obtained for the project

under the Forest Conservation Rules is only a preliminary
administrative approval and the same cannot be treated as a
complete statutory clearance under the Forest (Conservation) Act
either for the purpose of felling trees or construction/widening of the
road. Any supplementary guidelines issued by the authorities by
diluting the provisions of Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act
and Forest Conservation Rules have no sanctity in the eyes of law.
Moreover such activities are against the National Forest Policy 1988.

23 P. It is submitted that there are about 17 Tribal Villages existing

between Jallakatti to Anmod of the project area. Projects involving
forest clearances are mandatorily to be placed before the Grama
Sabhas and consent is required to be obtained under the scheduled
Tribes and other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act,
2006. In the instant case no such consent from the Grama Sabha has
been obtained and therefore granting Stage-I Clearance and the
implementation of the project are bad in law.

23 Q. It is submitted that the project NH 4A is passing through the

fragile Eco Sensitive Western Ghats region of Belgaum District.
These areas are Bio diversity rich region with different endangered
species which are endemic to the region. If the natural bio diversity of
the region is perished, there will be no re generation of the same
species. Section 36(4) of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 mandates
a Biological Impact Assessment of the project whenever the project
causes adverse impact on the biological entities of the region. The
project proponents have not applied their mind into this critical
provision of the law. Hence the implementation of the project is
illegal.

23 R. The impugned project is not absolutely necessary for the

sustainable development of the region. It is submitted that there are
two alternative motorable highways existing between Belgaum and
Goa. State Highway No. 54 which joins State Highway No.31
connects Belgaum-Jamboti- Mapusa through Chorle Ghat. Another
road exists between Belgaum and Goa is Belgaum-Karwar-Margoan
highway which is converted to a four lane highway in the recent past.
Hence the widening of NH 4A is a mechanical exercise envisaged for
the purpose of benefitting the contractors of the project. On the other
hand the project is being implemented in violation of National Forest
Policy, Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Wild Life Protection Act,
1972, Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986, Scheduled Tribes and
Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act,
2006 and Biological Diversity Act, 2002. In addition to the above it is
submitted that implementation of the project violates the order and
directions issued by this Hon’ble Court in W.P.No. 14029/2008.

24. The Petitioners respectfully submit that in the absence of alternate

and efficacious remedy is filing the Public Interest Litigation Writ
Petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India.
 25.The Petitioners have not filed any other petition or petitions before
this Hon’ble Court on the same cause of action and no other suits or
proceedings are pending in any other court at the instance of the
Petitioners.

26.The Petitioners produce herewith Court Fee of Rs.100/- as per

Karnataka Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act.

GROUNDS

27.It is respectfully submitted that the Respondent 3 is without getting

clearance from the Wild Life Board and not acquiring the required
land from the private parties as on today cannot destroy the Elephant
Reserve and Dense forest in the District of Balgavi and surrounding
districts for the purpose of widening the NH4-A.

28.It is respectfully submitted that the major evergreen trees are,

AglaiamalabaricaSasidh., BischofiajavanicaBlume ,Chionanthus
mala-elengi (Dennst.) P. S. Green, (Mala ilanji) Garciniagummi-gutta
(L.) Robs. , (Knemaattenuata (Hook. f. &Thoms.)Warb (Chorapali)
Litsea floribunda (Blume) Gamble, AntidesmamontanumBlume,
CulleniaexarillataRobyns, Bull.(Mllanpali) Melicopelunu-ankenda
(Gaertn.) Hartley, Mallotustetracoccus (Roxb.)Kurz (Sindoori),
Meliosmapinnata (Roxb.) Maxim. SyzygiumgardneriThw.,etc . Many
of them coming under the category of Rare Endemic and Threatened
plants (RET) (Nayar, 1996 &IUCN, 2000).

Quoting from Hidden life of trees by Peter Wohlleben“ For reaching

sexual maturity, some trees have to reach 150 years of age. 8ft trees
can be 80 years old and these 80 year old trees under a 200 years
old mother tree might have to wait for another 200 years to gain
growth in a very dense forest. They grow fine hairs in tree roots to
suck up moisture pairing with fungi – mycelium. Older the tree, the
more quickly it grows.” Many trees that are marked for cutting in
these pristine tropical wet evergreen forests of Belgaum and Haliyal
Divisions belongs to rare / endangered and threatened species. Many
are lower girth size, which doesn’t mean the trees are not old trees.
No compensatory afforestation can conserve these floral species and
the damaged eco system.

29.It is respectfully submitted that in the case of KM ChinnappaVs

UOI -AIR 2003 SC 724 in paragraph 17 and 29, the Apex court
dealing with Art 48A and Art51(A)(g) impose obligations on the State
and the citizens of India to protect and improve the natural
environment including forests, lakes , rivers and wildlife and to have
compassion for living creatures. In paragraph 29, it is stated as under
:

“ The tide of judicial considerations in environmental

litigations in India symbolises the anxiety of Court in
finding out appropriate remedies for environmental
maladies. At global level, the to live is now recognised as
a fundamental right to an environment adequate for
health and well being of human beings …. “

30.It is respectfully submitted that in the letter dated 21-11-2012 by

Chief Conservator of Forests, it is stated that the approval shall be
given subject to the approval of Chief Wildlife Warden and National
Board of Wildlife. In the absence of consent letters from Chief Wildlife
Warden and NBWL, it is a clear violation of Section 2 Forest
Conservation Act where a 3rd party user agency is allowed to fell
trees inside forest land.

31. It is respectfully submitted that the Government. ofIndia vide

letterNo. F.No.7-2/2012-PE dated 27-02-2015 Elephant Reserve has
approvedand accordingly Government of Karnataka declared with its’
buffer zones clearly mentioned. Kanhapur, Belgaum, Haliyal are
divisions that are part of the buffer zone of elephant reserve. As per
F. No. 6-10/2011 WL dated December 2012, obtaining
recommendations of the Standing Committee of NBWL under the
Wild Life (protection) Act 1972 with respect to the areas, for which
this process is mandatory under the law, and also in compliance to
relevant Hon'ble Supreme Court orders.

32. It is respectfully submitted that as per the press information

bureau published by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways as of
23rd Mar 2017, the four laning of National Highway is based on
threshold traffic for 4-laning of NHs from 15,000; 11,000; and 8,000
Passenger Car Units (PCUs) per day to 10,000; 8,500 and 6,000
PCUs/day for Plain, Rolling, and Mountainous/Steep Terrains
respectively. It is submitted that the Chief Conservator of Forests vide
letter No:A7/LND/NHAI/FC/PRP/BGM/2012-13 dated 03-10-2012
states the current width of the road at 7m in forest area. The proposal
to four lane the stretch inside forest area would mean widening a 7m
existing road to as wide as 45 m. It is humbly submitted that in the
backdrop of the geological fragility of the landscape of Western Ghats
and the effect of recent floods in mountainous Kodagu, Wayanad and
Idukki which are again on the Western Ghats clearly gives human
induced green cover loss as a primary cause of landslides. It is
important to highlight that though NHAI has a standard width
procedure for road widening, it has to consider the fragility of the
ecology of certain sections, wildlife movement, wildlife corridors and
population density for widening. India is a thickly populated land with
4 big cats and many large mammalian species that needs a large
terrain co existing in this landscape, unlike the Western World. A one
size fits all model for development in India is a faulty approach
considering we need to accommodate development by conserving
the rich natural heritage of this country. It is highly unscientific to use
the same width uniformly across all kinds of terrains, eco fragile
lands, landslide prone areas and forest zones. Blasting and use of
heavy machinery to remove large rock structures to widen roads in
steep terrains has proven to have long lasting consequences on the
stability of the land. NHAI by deforesting the landscape of its’ century
old mother trees with root structures that can run upto many
kilometres are triggering a series of land instability issues in the
terrain, thus putting both humans and animal species at severe risk
during heavy rains.
32A.That the project is being implemented in violation to the
Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986 as no environmental clearance
is obtained for the project. The project DPR was prepared on
20/06/2017 and no EIA has been conducted as mandated in the EIA
notification 2006.

32B.That the project is being carried out in violation to the notification

dated 13/11/2013 which expressly prohibits construction of 20000
meters and above in the Eco Sensitive areas of Western Ghats
region. The projects are being carried out in the notified protected
Eco Sensitive areas and hence the implementation of the project is
illegal.

32C. That Stage-I Clearance to the project is only an administrative

approval and not a complete approval for construction of concrete
road in the forest area. Any guidelines issued with relaxation of
conditions for felling the trees, if issued are not in complicity with
Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. Therefore felling of large number of
trees from the forest area is a gross violation of the Forest
(Conservation)Act.

32 D. That before granting Stage-I Clearance to the project no prior

approval from the Grama Sabhas has been obtained. Hence granting
Stage-I Clearance to the project is illegal and against the principles of
law.

32 E. That no permissions from the NBWL and NTCA have been

obtained by the project proponent before implementation of the
project. Hence the project is bad in law.

32 F. That the project was not subjected for a Biological Impact

Assessment as the same is mandatory under section 36(4) of the
Bio-Diversity Act, 2002.

32 G. That there is alternative Highways existing between Belgaum

and Goa which are in motorable condition. Hence widening of NH 4A
is not an unavoidable development project and not being carried out
in public interest.

32H. That good quality environment is a fundamental right and is a

part of personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution
of India. The Government has no right to curtail such fundamental
rights guaranteed under the Constitution by causing irreparable
damage upon the natural environment in the name of
development/widening of Highways. Implementation of such projects
in violation to the human fundamental rights and other statutory
provisions of laws of the land cannot be permitted.

GROUNDS FOR INTERIM RELEIF

33.It is respectfully submitted that the Respondent 3 is without getting

clearance from the Wild Life Board and not acquiring the required
land from the private parties as on today cannot destroy the Elephant
Reserve and Dense forest in the District of Balgavi and surrounding
districts for the purpose of widening the NH4-A.

34.It is respectfully submitted that the Government. of India vide

letter No. F.No.7-2/2012-PE dated 27-02-2015 Elephant Reserve has
approved and accordingly Government of Karnataka declared with its’
buffer zones clearly mentioned. Kanhapur, Belgaum, Haliyal are
divisions that are part of the buffer zone of elephant reserve. As per
F. No. 6-10/2011 WL dated December 2012, obtaining
recommendations of the Standing Committee of NBWL under the
Wild Life (protection) Act 1972 with respect to the areas, for which
this process is mandatory under the law, and also in compliance to
relevant Hon'ble Supreme Court orders.

35.It is therefore prayed that this Hon’ble Court by way interim order
restrain the 3rd Respondent from widening the roads under NH4-A
which are passing through the Core, Reserve Forest and Elephant
Reserve also Tiger Reserve falling under 4/6 lane (A) Belagavi
 Bypass(Western), BelagaviByepass (Eastern) and Notified Core
Areas of Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, Buffer Area falling under
Yallapur,Kriwatrtietc as notified by the Government of Karnataka vide
Notification Bearing No.FEE 362 FWL 2014 dated 26-03-2015 as per
Annexure ‘M’ pending disposal of the Writ Petition in the interest of
justice and equity.

PRAYER

36. The Petitioners therefore pray that this Hon’ble Court be pleased:

A. To issue an appropriate writ, order or direction, to stop illegal road

widening under the Forest Conservation Act 1980 and Wildlife
Protection Act 1972 undertaken by the 3rd Respondent in the Districts
of Belagavi and surrounding districts.

AA. to issue a Writ in the nature of Prohibition and prohibit the

respondents from further carrying out the road widening of the Highway
NH 4 A in the notified ecologically sensitive areas of the Western Ghats
which is being carried out in violation of the Environmental (Protection)
Act, 1986, the EIA notification No. S.O 1533 (E) dated 14th September
2006 and the notification dated 13-11-2013, Biological Diversity Act,
2002 and the Forest Rights Act 2006.

B. To direct the respondents to adhere to theMoEF’s recommendation of

the sub committee on guideline for roads in protected areas,F.No.6-
62/2013 WL, Dated 22nd December 2014as per Annexure ‘L’, and
also that as principle of Avoidance through forest areas and critical
elephant corridors be followed and retain existing road width in forest
areas and allow only two lane roads.
C. To direct NHAI 3rd Respondent to maintain 50 Kmph speed limit with
intermittent speed breakers inside all wildlife corridors and forest
areas (PAs and Territorial divisions) to avoid death due to road kills.
D. To direct Karnataka Forest Department to ban night traffic through all
Elephant reserves as per directions of NBWL Standing Committee.
E. To grant such other reliefs as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and
proper in light of the facts and circumstances of the case in the
interest of justice and equity.

INTERIM PRAYER

37.The Petitioners therefore pray that this Hon’ble Court by way

interim order restrain the 3rd Respondent from widening the roads
under NH4-A which are passing through the Core, Reserve Forest
and Elephant Reserve also Tiger Reserve falling under 4/6 lane (A)
Belagavi Bypass(Western), BelagaviByepass (Eastern) and Notified
Core Areas of Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, Buffer Area falling under
Yallapur, Kriwatrtietc as notified by the Government of Karnataka
vide Notification Bearing No.FEE 362 FWL 2014 dated 26-03-2015
as per Annexure ‘M’ pending disposal of the Writ Petition in the
interest of justice and equity.

Bengaluru
Date:21-01-2019 Advocate for Petitioner