Wildlife Board Clears Proposal to Use Silent Valley Buffer Zone for NH Devpt

The standing committee of the National Board for Wild Life (NBWL) has cleared a proposal to use 134.1 hectares of land, including 9.526 hectares of forest, for the development of the Palakkad-Kozhikode greenfield highway.

- MANOJ VISWANATHAN @Kochi

The highway will be passing through the buffer zone of the Silent Valley National Park at an aerial distance of 5.7 km to 7.3 km from the forest boundary.

The total length of the highway is 121.006 km. Works Minister P A Mohammed Riyas had informed the Kerala Assembly in January that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has cleared the project. The highway passing through the districts of Palakkad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode will be developed as a high-speed corridor.