Heeding to the calls of experts and wildlife lovers, Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday announced that the proposed construction of a road through the Pakke Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Pakke-Kessang district has been kept in abeyance. The proposed 40 Km road is part of the East-West Industrial Corridor project to connect Seijosa in Pakke-Kessang district with Bhalukpong in West Kameng district. Environmental experts and wildlife enthusiasts had expressed concern as the road is expected to pass through the PTR, which is home to tigers and is a biodiversity hotspot, as is most of Arunachal Pradesh, which is home to many national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves.
With the government planning to construct new roads, the conflict between environmentalists and authorities like the ones witnessed in the PTR is bound to happen. Therefore, before planning any road project that passes through national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves, expert views of environmentalists should be taken into account. Projects should be planned in such a way that it keeps everyone happy. For now, a huge question mark hangs over the future of the ambitious East-West Industrial Corridor project because of the PTR issue. This road project is very important for the state as it aims to provide road connectivity to the people living along the foothills area. This is the pet project of MoS (Independent) for Youths Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju. He has been pushing for the East-West Industrial Corridor along with the frontier highway. The state government should urgently work out a solution in regards to the PTR issue. The project should also not be scrapped at any cost.