Staff Reporter
Margao
A group of scientists and researchers have written to the Regional Empowered Committee (REC), urging it to uphold the Central Empowered Committee’s (CEC) recommendation to scrap the double-tracking railway project from Castlerock (Karnataka) to Kulem (Goa).
They said that the Western Ghats ecosystem is fragile and warned that the project would cause large-scale deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and increased train-induced wildlife mortality.
Addressed to the REC at the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, the letter states that the project would cause irreversible damage to the biodiversity-rich forests of Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park.
“This project threatens the livelihoods and well-being of communities that depend on them. Upholding the CEC’s recommendation is a vital step toward protecting both the ecological future and societal well-being of the region,” said Dr Anushka Rege, a scientist who has worked in the landscape and co-drafted the letter.
Dr Sinead D’Silva, a researcher at the University of Leeds, said, “People of Goa constantly demonstrate our deep relationship with territory and culture through actively voicing dissent against the project. The people can see this—why is the government unable to do so?”
The signatories raised concerns over habitat destruction for cavity-nesting birds like the Great Hornbill, which play a crucial role in forest regeneration. They warned that the loss of tree cover would impact arboreal species, such as langurs, macaques, and civets, whose movement depends on canopy connectivity. They also said mitigation measures suggested in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) remain inadequate and fail to account for broader ecological disruptions.
They further stated that the EIA overlooked tiger presence in the region. “The proposed railway line cuts through the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, part of the Kali Tiger Reserve, and reserved forests of Haliyal Division, where tiger activity has been documented. The NTCA has recognised this corridor as vital for connecting Northern Western Ghats tiger populations with those in Karnataka and Goa. Increased rail traffic would heighten mortality risks for tigers and their prey, as evidenced by reports of rising wildlife fatalities on railway tracks across India,” they said.
The letter also questioned the economic and transportation rationale behind the project, arguing that with a steep 1:37 gradient, the railway line is one of the most inefficient in the country, which double-tracking will not improve. They claimed coal transportation, rather than public transport, was the primary motivation for the project.
They also pointed to the CEC report, which stated that the Mopa airport and expanded highway networks already address regional transport demands, making railway expansion redundant.
The scientists have called upon REC to uphold the Supreme Court’s directive and scrap the project entirely.
, stressing that it would be an inefficient use of resources with devastating socio-ecological consequences, including heightened pollution, health hazards from coal transport, and economic disruptions to communities reliant on eco-tourism.
