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The much-awaited phase I clearance from ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has not brought any relief for the Nagpur-Jabalpur highway widening project as it has inflated the project cost from INR400 crore to INR 1,000 crore. National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) that the agency could not afford such a price escalation and the project would continue to remain in cold storage.

MoEF has given stage I clearance to the project but with around 25 conditions. Some of them are easy like plantation, ensuring that minimum trees are chopped, doing soil conservation work, etc. However, the condition of providing passage to wild animals has made the project unviable. Wildlife Institute of India (WWI) has asked NHAI to construct four flyovers having total length of 5 kms. These flyovers will cost INR 600 crore, according to an official.

The total length of stretch between Khawasa and Mansar is 37 km. WWI wants 5 km of it to be elevated so that animals could cross over to the other side of the road without getting killed by speeding vehicles. Only after these 25 conditions are met the state government can apply for phase II clearance for the project.

Meanwhile, due to lead taken by Ramtek MLA Ashish Jaiswal, NHAI has sent a letter to deputy conservator of forests (DCF), Nagpur seeking permission to widen the road up to 9 km from Mansar - towards Khawasa - as this portion was not forest land. In a meeting held in July 2013 to discuss the decision to abandon construction of Mansar flyover, Jaiswal had pointed out this fact.

Jaiswal charged that Oriental Constructions, NHAI's contractor, was illegally charging toll from those travelling between Nagpur and Ramtek. "I had repeatedly told NHAI that there was no need for forest clearance till 680 km milestone. But they have realized it now. When the road is built up to 9 km from Mansar the toll plaza will shift there and we will get relief," he said.

Oriental officials however, said permission for widening the highway could not be given in bits and parts. "We are not aware of any such letter from NHAI," an official said. Congress leader Chandrapal Choukse too charged Oriental with illegally extracting toll. "The plaza should exist at 689 milestone, which is just beyond Mansar. However, it illegally exists at Amdi Fata in contempt of Supreme Court (SC) orders. In spite of repeated agitations the district administration is just not acting against the contractor," he said. Residents of Ramtek have staged road blockades several times over the location of the toll booth. Oriental Constructions has maintained that the toll plaza was at a perfect place and they had old maps to prove this.

Source-On Request