No underpass, overpass built in identified locations by Railways or State governments
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pulled up the Union Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) for neglecting the elephant corridors in the Palakkad railway division. Elephants continue to die on rail tracks despite the Ministries jointly initiating short- and long-term measures, the CAG says in its latest report.
Neither Railways nor the State governments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala have approached the authorities concerned of the Centrally sponsored Project Elephant for a permanent mitigation plan in the Podanur-Palakkad rail section. Seven elephant passages have been identified in the 48-km Podanur-Palakkad section which passes through the reserve forests of the Western Ghats. This section is a part of the main line from Chennai to Thiruvananthapuram via Erode.
Seven passages
Of the seven passages, two are in Tamil Nadu, three in Kerala and the remaining two fall in both States. On an average, 61 express and passenger trains pass daily through the Podanur-Palakkad section where wild elephants cross the railway track frequently. The railway line passes through the forests for 16.5 km, of which 5 km is between Ettimadai and Walayar in Tamil Nadu and the 11.5 km in Kerala.
Ten elephants were killed due to train hits in the Kanjikode-Madukkari section during 2006-10. Similarly, four elephants were killed between 2016-17 and 2018-19, sources say.
In its 260-page, the CAG says no underpass or overpass has been constructed in the identified locations so far by Railways or the State governments.
Precautionary steps
Precautionary measures such as providing ramps for trapped elephants between Ettimadai and Walayar, setting up watch towers for monitoring the movement of elephants, building percolation ponds, installing infrared ray equipment to detect the presence of elephants have failed.
Sources say the CAG has recommended a permanent coordinating committee involving officers of the Palakkad division and the divisional forest offices at Palakkad and Coimbatore to assess the effectiveness of the mitigation measures. Besides, engaging more elephant trackers for communicating the presence of elephants near track to station masters or the control office has been mooted. At present, elephant trackers are engaged by the Forest Departments.
Another is seeking assistance from the Centre for the early construction of the proposed underpasses and rail fencing. Further, ensuring execution of all measures to avoid death of wildlife and strict compliance with the measures to protect nature before commissioning any new project through reserve forests.
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