54,000 trees felled for railway line in MP, but now probe ordered into dangerous alignment

THe amerindic Railways has ordered an enquiry into the alignment of a railway run along line betwixt Panna and Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, terming it “dangerous, as it had six sharp turns”, officials aware of the matter said on Thursday, adding that a new route is under planning stage.According to officials, the inquiry will identify individuals responsible for “significant” environmental loss—54,578 trees were cut to begin construction of the proposed railway line—and planning missteps that occurred before the project received forest approval.The Khajuraho-Panna rail link, costing about ₹2,100 crore, was approved in 2021, and in 2025, the railways said the construction would start soon. In the first phase, a 16 km stretch from Khajuraho to Surajpura was to be constructed. In all, 47 bridges and six stations were to be constructed in the 72-km line, an official statement issued in 2025 said.According to a senior railway official aware of the development, the alignment was scrapped in 2025, just before construction of the railway line began, following a complaint. The complaint was about the dangerous alignment in violation of railway norms, the official said.On the ministry’s direction on Thursday, the West Central Railway (WCR) has constituted a three-member technical committee to find out how the “dangerous” alignment was approved in 2021.“Safety concerns over six sharp curves exceeding 40 MM on the Lalitpur-Singrauli line as the reason for the change,” a senior railway official said. For the railway line to have a speed less than 80km/hour, the curve should not exceed 40 MM.The ministry obtained forest clearance in 2019 to divert 314 hectares of forest for the project, and the trees were cut along the alignment until 2025, officials said.WCR public relations officer Harshit Shrivastava said a three-member technical committee has been constituted to investigate who designed the original route, why flaws went unnoticed in 2021, and why alignment was altered after crores had already been spent and thousands of trees felled.“The maps of the line were assessed after a few officers raised questions about the line’s design. The ministry decided to change the route. However, the technical committee will detect the real flaws,” the PRO said.The new route, which is being finalised, is expected to be a kilometre away from the scrapped alignment, officials said. For the new alignment, about 230 hectares of forest land will be needed, and the initial estimate says that about 50,000 additional trees will have to be cut.In a statement, the WRC said the railways minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, had ordered reassessment of the railway line. “Experts will study all possible options to ensure minimal environmental impact and preserve as many trees as possible,” the statement said, quoting the railway minister.The statement said the minister has ordered that the trees be planted in double the number of those affected before the monsoon season.Environment activist Ajay Dubey said: “The railway line has already disturbed the flora and fauna of the Panna Tiger Reserve buffer zone. Now they want to change it again. Felling more than 100,000 trees for a railway project is a criminal offence. Accountability must be fixed for the officers who designed this route.”