Rs 14,000 Crore Surat-Chennai Economic Corridor Faces Green Hurdle

A vital segment of the ambitious Surat-Chennai economic corridor faces a grave green hurdle ahead of the assembly elections in Gujarat, according to a report published in Economic Times.

According to the ET report, the near Rs 14,000 crore project has run into trouble with the Union Environment ministry's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for Infrastructure projects, over its proposed 290 km long greenfield Surat-Nashik-Ahmednagar section which falls in pristine and untouched areas of the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats.

Earlier, the EAC has said in a meeting that took place on July 21-22, the stakeholder ministry/department should upgrade on the existing National Highway alignment instead of running into 'virgin and ecologically sensitive new parts of Western Ghat areas'.

Considering the importance of the corridor, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MORTH) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) are preparing to 'appeal' with the Environment ministry to reconsider its view and allow leeway for the national connectivity project which will ultimately link up Delhi to Chennai through an access-controlled corridor, as per the ET report.

The project has also been a major political and economic talking point for the infrastructure boost it will bring to the region.

"We will appeal with the EAC. Packages for so many segments linking up to this corridor have already been awarded. This was to be an access-controlled expressway- a key link off the Golden Quadrilateral for national connectivity. We are very mindful of environmental concerns and have always prioritised them and the new alignment will in fact reduce affected area and use modern technology to minimise environmental damage. However, there is no other alternative alignment possible and upgrading the existing one defeats the very purpose of the corridor", a senior official told ET.

The EAC has also noted in its July 21 meeting that the total travel length of the existing road (NH-848)- Surat-Mumbai- is 136 Kms while the proposed greenfield is 107 Kms. The likely travel time after improvement on existing road is 3 hours but a greenfield corridor would bring it down to 1 hr 10 min.