The project involves the diversion of 8.0357 hectares of forest land within compartments located inside the wildlife corridor between the Satpura and Melghat tiger reserves. The clearance, granted during the committee meeting on June 10, 2026, is subject to conditions. Final approval will only be given once the railway sections on the Itarsi-Nagpur route, including the Jujharpur-Dhodramohar stretch, receive wildlife clearance from the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife.
No working permission or forest land authorisation is to be issued before the final clearance is secured, as specified in the committee’s minutes.
The Itarsi-Nagpur route runs through Madhya Pradesh’s Narmadapuram (formerly Hoshangabad), Chhindwara, Pandhurna, and Betul districts, as well as Nagpur district in Maharashtra. This broad-gauge double line is a vital segment of the high-density Rajdhani corridor that connects New Delhi to southern metro cities including Chennai, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, and Thiruvananthapuram.
To increase capacity, the government has approved the addition of a third line between Jujharpur and Dhodramohar, which is to be implemented by Central Railway’s Nagpur Division.
In March 2026, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Wildlife Institute of India, Madhya Pradesh forest department, and Indian Railways conducted a joint field inspection directed by the National Board for Wildlife’s standing committee. This inspection assessed proposed mitigation measures, particularly the installation of wildlife overpasses, to reduce animal mortality on the railway tracks.
Several overpasses were recommended by the Wildlife Institute of India, and subsequent modifications were suggested during the joint review. The Itarsi-Nagpur and Ballarshah-Gondia routes have recorded multiple wildlife deaths annually, emphasizing the importance of such mitigation structures for conservation.
