GUWAHATI, July 29 - Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya today informed the State Assembly that an expert committee has been constituted to the study the proposal for laying a second track through Deepor Beel.
�The report of the committee will be submitted to the National Green Tribunal and the ruling of the tribunal will be binding on the government,� he said.
The issue was raised by AGP legislator Ramendra Narayan Kalita, who, citing media reports said that the existing track has already been creating a lot of man-animal conflict. �Now the government has proposed to lay a second track. This will aggravate the problem further,� he said.
The minister admitted that the condition of the water-body has been deteriorating by the day due to population pressure on it. �The outlets of the Beel have disappeared and the migratory birds flocking to it, too, have been bearing the brunt,� he said.
The minister, however, informed that the Railways has not begun the double-tracking work of the Kamakhya-Jogighopa line on the southern part of the Beel as alleged by the locals.
�A committee has been formed comprising representatives of the conservationists, Forest and Railway departments, which is studying the issue. So far, the committee has come up with two alternative routes � one on the northern side and the second through tunnels on the southern side,� the minister said, adding that the government will not take any decision that will have a negative impact on the Beel.
The government, he said, is also considering another alternative alignment � which runs from pillar number 163/4 of the Azara railway station to pillar 172/0 of the Kamakhya station. The line, which is the result of a joint survey, will pass from behind Radisson Blu hotel near Assam Engineering College.
