Rising to eco-challenge: Gir elevated rail, road links to steer clear of lions

Ahmedabad: The lions of Gujarat are shaping the state govt's policy to expand rail and road networks through ecologically sensitive areas.The steady rise of Asiatic lion deaths on railway tracks and the repeated sightings of the lions on highways have galvanized the Gujarat govt to propose elevated transportation corridors in and around Gir.The proposal covers Greater Gir and other wildlife sanctuaries.The state forest department is drafting its own Gujarat Forest Policy, which is being read as a significant shift in how the state expands transportation links through delicate, fauna-rich landscapes.The forest department is pushing for infrastructure that allows animal movement beneath viaducts. Currently, the animals often move across open tracks and carriageways, officials said.A P Singh, the head of the forest department and the principal chief conservator of forests, said, "There is a National Forest Policy, but the state, based on its own needs, is drafting its own policy."Official sources said the Gujarat forest department is focusing on wildlife conservation and management and is recommending strict limits on new linear infrastructure in key habitats.The draft is likely to propose a fresh look at expanding road networks, converting rail gauges, and enhancing railway capacity.Some of these proposals are modelled on the mitigation measures adopted around Assam's Kaziranga National Park, where elevated stretches and wildlife-friendly design features were used to reduce animal-vehicle conflict.Senior Gujarat forest department officials said that the proposal is expected to cover eco-sensitive zones notified or earmarked around protected areas, not just the core sanctuary limits.The officials said the intent is to ensure that new state highways, national highways, and railway lines do not create additional barriers to wildlife movement in corridors that connect Gir with surrounding forest patches and revenue lands used by lions.The department previously took the position that railway expansion inside sanctuary limits should not be permitted unless the alignment is elevated.With lion populations dispersing beyond Gir into the wider Saurashtra landscape, officials said the risk increased on existing transport corridors that cut across or skirt habitats and movement routes.Data cited within the department points to recurring fatalities. In 2023 and 2024, officials recorded two lion deaths in road accidents and five deaths in train hits. Over nearly a decade, the Gir region registered around 20 lion deaths linked to train and road accidents, according to figures referenced by officials familiar with the draft policy discussions.The concern extends beyond lions: in the Velavadar region, blackbuck deaths linked to an existing highway were reported to be 15 in a year, highlighting the broader impact of high-speed traffic on wildlife.To strengthen its case, the forest department has cited examples from major protected areas including Jim Corbett, Sundarbans, Kaziranga and Kanha, arguing that new projects around wildlife habitats should incorporate elevation, underpasses, controlled access, speed management and other design interventions as standard conditions.Officials said the emphasis is on preventing further fragmentation of habitats and reducing direct mortality from collisions.Alongside infrastructure recommendations, the draft policy is also expected to focus on the expansion of community reserves and conservation reserves in lion-use areas outside protected forests.Officials said such measures would help secure dispersal corridors. "Declaring a new sanctuary was not possible because of the development and human populations in the lion landscape, even in and around Velavadar," an official said. "Hence, community reserves and conservation reserves will be emphasized in the policy."