Tunnel project ignored key green safeguards

Kozhikode: Several key safeguards attached to the environmental clearance granted for the Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi tunnel project have not been implemented, and some have been violated, an examination of the clearance conditions and their on-ground implementation shows.

The state govt has ordered an inquiry into whether the contractor and other stakeholders complied with the 60 mandatory conditions imposed by the expert appraisal committee (EAC) of the ministry of environment, forest and climate change while granting the clearance in May 2025.The clearance was granted subject to project-specific conditions meant to minimise geological and ecological risks in one of the state’s most landslide-prone landscapes.

Evidence emerging after the recent landslip shows several safeguards remained confined to official documents rather than field-level action.Condition 27 states that disposal of muck during construction should not adversely affect neighbouring communities, and should be carried out only at approved sites with the competent authority’s approval. Instead, a massive quantity of excavated earth was stored at the project site itself.

Residents complained as early as May that large mounds of excavated soil were being washed into a nearby river during rains, affecting water quality.Condition 38 prohibits extraction and use of groundwater for the project. The construction agency, however, allegedly drilled multiple borewells within the project area and has been using groundwater for construction activities, sources said, raising questions over compliance.The EAC had recognised the area’s high susceptibility to slope instability and prescribed continuous geotechnical monitoring. Condition 7 required micro-scale mapping of landslide-prone zones and regular monitoring of vulnerable slopes through an environmental management committee constituted by the project proponent, which was to submit observations periodically to the local panchayat.Condition 8 mandated four ground vibration monitoring stations with automated data monitoring and telemetry transmission, at the south portal, the 1,000m and 6,500m marks along the tunnel (chainage points), and the north portal.Meppadi panchayat authorities said they have not received periodic reports on landslide monitoring or vibration data. Panchayat secretary Shaju said the local body has not yet received updates from the vibration monitoring system or regular landslide-monitoring reports.The EAC also directed detailed scientific monitoring of the Banasura Chilappan, an endangered, endemic bird species confined to the high-altitude sky islands above the tunnel alignment, to assess construction’s impact on it and its habitat.

Though rock blasting began from the Anakkampoyil side in March, the monitoring programme has reportedly not begun. Project authorities had approached the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History to undertake the study, sources said, but it has not started.Wildlife mitigation measures remain incomplete too. The EAC had directed establishment of the Appankappu elephant corridor, preferably through direct acquisition of six land parcels covering about 3.05 hectares, to maintain elephant movement between the Camel Hump mountains, Nilambur South Forest Division, Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary and Silent Valley National Park. The land acquisition has reportedly not been completed.The clearance had also stipulated that all regulatory provisions applicable to villages within the ecologically sensitive area be strictly followed during implementation, compliance the govt’s inquiry is also expected to examine.