The work on the Sabarimala ropeway project, for transporting goods between the Sannidhanam and Pampa, is unlikely to commence this year too, with the Forest Department finding faults with the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) submitted by the Kochi-based Eighteenth Step Damodar Cable Car Private Ltd. The department has raised certain crucial questions on the environmental impact of the ropeway.
At a public hearing at the collectorate here recently, Assistant Conservator of Forest C.K. Haby stated that the consultants had failed to consider the “uniqueness of the project site in the Periyar Tiger Reserve, the safety and security aspects as well as the custom and beliefs as mentioned in the Sabarimala Master Plan.” The minutes of the hearing, signed by Collector P.B. Noohu, quotes Mr. Haby as saying that the “consultants never consulted the Forest Department on the matter.” According to Mr. Haby the advantage of the proposed ropeway over the present tractor transport system is not clear as the pollution load due to tractor movement has not been assessed.
Moreover, the impact of large-scale removal of earth and cutting of trees has not been quantified. The time required for restoration of the forest and the measures to mitigate the environmental impact have not been assessed, he said.
Mr. Haby said the “Forest Department has doubts over the reliability of the EIA report.” The Collector too raised apprehensions about selecting the Pampa hilltop as the terminal base station, as even parking of vehicles is not permitted in the area following the deluge of August 2018.
Company’s version
Uma Nair, company spokesperson, has clarified that trees would be cut at the pillar points. There would be 19 pillars for the proposed ropeway and trees coming in the endangered category, if any, could be protected by rearranging the pillar positions. The company is ready to conduct an additional study at the earliest to quantify the pollution caused by the tractor movement. However, the details pertaining to the earth removal and its impact could be assessed only after the soil test, she said.
Ms. Nair said special care would be taken to ensure that elephant routes and animal crossing paths were not affected. The company and the consultants had tried to contact the Forest Department in vain in 2017 and 2019.
