Coastal highway expansion may damage turtle nesting grounds

Mumbai: The state government’s expansion of the Revas-Reddi coastal highway is likely to eat into at least two Olive Ridley turtle nesting sites in Sindhudurg and will come perilously close to four others in Ratnagiri, according to documents submitted to the Union environment ministry by the Maharashtra Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).

The nesting sites include Tambaldeg and Wayangani beaches in Sindhudurg and Anjarle, Velas, Kelshi and Daphol beaches in Ratnagiri.

In Sindhudurg, the highway will also pass through the eco-sensitive buffer zone of the Malvan Marine Sanctuary, pass over coral reefs at Kunkeshwar beach and through sand dunes at Mithmumbari, the documents show. The road will also pass over several ecologically important water bodies, including the Taramumbri, Naringri, Achara, Gad, Karli and Mochemad rivers, and the Kelus Creek.

In Ratnagiri, “The Kelshi beach turtle nesting site is 50 metres away from the proposed project while Velas nesting site and Anjarle nesting sites are 130 and 210 metres away from the proposed project respectively. At Dabhol, the proposed alignment is passing over the turtle nesting site. At Dabhol, the turtle nesting site is spread along the creek where a bridge is proposed and the distance between two pillars is kept at 150 metres, hence the turtle nesting site will not be disturbed,” state the documents.

An executive engineer with the MSRDC, requesting anonymity, said, “The expansion follows the existing alignment of MSH-4, except in a few places. We have surveyed multiple possible alignments to expand the number of lanes for this highway, and have sought in-principle approval only for the alignment which will cause the least amount of environmental or social disruption. A proper list of eco-sensitive locations has been submitted to the MoEFCC and the environmental impact assessment (EIA) has to still be carried out. Whatever directions are given to us after that to conserve wildlife, we will follow.”

A conservation expert working with the forest department, who is familiar with the ecology of the south Konkan coast, meanwhile, said, “There doesn’t seem to be any need for alarm at present because in most places the alignment is passing away from the actual nesting sites. There is a lot of community support to protect beaches in the region, because of tourism, so there will be some resistance from locals. But yes, there will be increased traffic, and development across the region will get a boost because of this highway expansion. The ensuing development needs to be planned very carefully to conserve the turtle nesting sites.”