Rajasthan’s Ranthambore bridge proposal rejected

The ministry has further said that a letter would be sent to the chairman of the Rajasthan Wildlife Board for hiding the fact that the same proposal was already rejected in 2024.

The proposal pertains to the construction of a bridge in Sawai Madhopur district. It was recommended by the Rajasthan Wildlife Board and forwarded by the Rajasthan Government to the Centre.

According to the documents accessed by The Tribune, the Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL) observed that this proposal was rejected by them on July 31, 2024, as it was in the core area of the tiger reserve. However, the state government again sent the proposal this year, seeking wildlife clearance from the Centre, while hiding the fact that this was already rejected last year.

“Notwithstanding this prior decision, the same proposal has once again been re-submitted. In the re-submission, this critical information regarding the earlier rejection of the proposal was missing and it failed to accurately represent facts, thereby providing potentially misleading information to the State Board for Wildlife as well as the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife. In this regard the Chairperson (Union Minister Bhupender Yadav) directed that a letter may be written on this matter to the Chairman, SBWL, to take suitable remedial measures,” the minutes of the SC-NBWL meeting said.

On August 12, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had observed that the bridge would ‘directly impact a stretch of habitat inside the core area of the reserve’.

The observations sent to the Environment Ministry noted, “The project location lies in Ranthambore’s core area, where tiger presence has been consistently documented in the 2018 and 2022 All-India Tiger Estimation cycles.”

“The area supports a rich faunal community -- including tigers, leopards, striped hyenas, chinkara, chital, sambar, and wild boar -- among other species. The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve is one of India’s most well-known tiger habitats, and the proposed bridge site lies within its core zone, an area critical not just for resident tigers, but also for dispersing individuals moving across the broader landscape,” it added.

Moreover, the site where the construction was proposed is vital for the movement of tigers in Ranthambore, Kuno National Park and surrounding forested areas.

“After discussions with the members and the Chief Wildlife Warden, Rajasthan, the standing committee decided not to recommend the proposal. Though a committee comprising of representatives of the Ministry, NTCA and the Wildlife Institute of India shall be constituted. It should inspect the site and submit a report to the ministry,” added the minutes of the meeting.