Environmentalists have expressed concerns over the proposed felling of more than 1.24 lakh trees for a railway project in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore and Khargone districts, which aims to improve the region’s connectivity with Mumbai and the southern parts of the country.
According to officials, the Western Railway is currently working on the 156-kilometre Mhow-Khandwa gauge conversion project, which involves converting the line from a narrow-gauge to a broad-gauge line. The concerned forest area falls within the Mhow-Sanawad section.
Mhow sub-divisional forest officer (SDO) Kailash Joshi told The Hindu that the forest, located in the 454-hectare area in Mhow and Choral subdivisions, has about 1.4 lakh trees. Of the 454 hectares, about 400 are in Indore district, while the remaining fall in Khargone’s Barwaha forest division.
“This is an estimated number, as the exact number will be clear after the ongoing marking work is complete. So far, we have marked 35,000 trees in Mhow subdivision,” he said.
“The proposal has gotten stage-1 clearance from the Union Environment Ministry after the recommendation from the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority. We are now preparing a ground survey report for the area to determine the impact and associated costs. The Railways has to give a compliance report for the final approval from the Centre,” the official, involved with the proposal, said on condition of anonymity.
“Stage-1 clearance is conditional and one main condition is that the land will remain deemed forest land and the Railways has to plant trees on both sides of the project,” the official said, adding that the forest department is also going to get 916 hectares of land in nearby Dhar and Jhabua districts.
Compensation
More than 9 lakh trees are going to be planted there from the compensation paid by the Railways, he said. “Apart from planting, the Railways will also pay for the maintenance of the trees for 10 years,” the official added.
The official maintained that the project will help the region connect with the western and southern parts of the country. “Mainly, this line will ease connectivity with the Hyderabad and Mumbai regions. Despite Indore being a big city, the region still lacks good railway connectivity, and people have to travel to Ratlam, Bhopal or even Gujarat for train travel,” the official added.
However, environmental activist and lawyer Abhinav Dhanodkar said that, irrespective of the project’s importance, the felling of such a large number of trees can be avoided. “The Mhow-Choral forest is among the most prominent and dense forests in the region, and the project aims to clear most of it. The number can be significantly reduced if the railways build over bridges and more tunnels. It will increase the cost a little but will definitely save the region’s wildlife,” Mr. Dhanodkar said, adding that the electric line is also likely to impact the region’s ecology.
“The forest department is talking about planting trees elsewhere, but that won’t help this region. And, cutting down full-grown trees and planting saplings are not the same,” he said.
Published – November 06, 2025 01:30 am IST
