Study on how bridge construction affects birds still in limbo

Even as the Signature Bridge is nearing completion, a wildlife study to assess the impact of bridge construction on migratory birds is still pending.

The forest department was tasked to do the study, which is one of the specific conditions of the environment impact assessment ( EIA) of the bridge. However, no progress has been made so far and environmentalists fear that once the bridge is ready, the recommendations of the study will not be of much relevance.

“Till their last meeting, there was no concrete proposal from the forest department. The next meeting is due in some days and we will ask the status and the reasons for the delay then,” said Shishir Bansal, the chief project manager of the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation ( DTTDC).

However, he added that any changes proposed after the study, with respect to height, wouldn’t be possible most likely since the bridge is in the last stage of completion.

The study is meant to assess the impact of the height of the bridge and the cables on the movement of the migratory birds.

“The study was supposed to tell if the bridge would affect the bird corridor. It would have proved useful to assess any disturbance to wildlife. But it is unfortunate that there is no progress on it till now,” said Vikrant Tongad, the environmental activist who had approached the NGT to ask the DTTDC to conduct an EIA.

“They got the environmental clearance on February 10 last year but the study, which was a specific condition of the EIA, has not been done till now,” said Mr Tongad.