The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL) has given in-principle clearance to a new railway line that cuts through the Satpura-Melghat Tiger Corridor. The corridor is one of central India's most critical wildlife landscapes.
The Satpura-Melghat Tiger Corridor links the Satpura and Melghat Tiger Reserves, letting tigers move between forests in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. A new railway project now cuts through part of this corridor.
Basic Details
Project: A third railway line on the Nagpur-Itarsi route, between Jujharpur (Betul) and Chichonda (Narmadapuram), Madhya Pradesh.
Length: 160.6 km.
Land Required: 206.09 hectares in total, including 74.69 hectares of notified tiger corridor forest.
Cleared By: The SC-NBWL Standing Committee, in-principle, per the minutes of its meeting held on 9 July 2026.
Conditions Attached
Wildlife Overpasses: The railway department has proposed several wildlife overpasses to let animals cross safely, though detailed engineering designs are still pending.
Scientific Study: The Madhya Pradesh State Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur, is conducting a study on the corridor. Its findings will decide the final number, location, and design of the overpasses before the project proceeds further.
Significance
Corridor Fragmentation Risk: Conservationists warn that cutting through notified corridor forest, even with mitigation measures, risks disrupting tiger movement between Satpura and Melghat.
Part of a Wider Pattern: The clearance follows separate concerns the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has raised over the Morand-Ganjal Irrigation Project. NTCA has warned the project could submerge other forest stretches that tigers use to move between the same two reserves.