Tunnel Vision Or Ecological Risk? Wayanad Project Triggers Alarm

A year after a massive landslide devastated the hill slopes of Chooralmala and Mundakkai in Kerala’s Wayanad district, killing dozens and displacing hundreds, the state government is under growing pressure to reconsider a controversial tunnel road project that would cut through the same ecologically sensitive terrain.

The Rs 2,134-crore project, being talked up as India's third-longest road tunnel, proposes an 8.17 km twin-tube, four-lane tunnel linking Kozhikode and Wayanad. It aims to bypass the congested Thamarassery Ghat section of National Highway 766. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government claims the tunnel will slash travel time between Kozhikode and Bengaluru, improve access to emergency medical care in the plains and facilitate disaster evacuation during climate crises.

But critics argue that the project, which would drill through numerous landslide-prone regions in the Western Ghats, puts both people and nature at grave risk.

Last week, Kerala Public Works Department Minister PA Muhammed Riyas announced that construction would begin by September. He described it as an "Onam gift” to Wayanad. However, on Thursday, the Kerala High Court directed the state to file a counter-affidavit in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the environmental and forest clearances granted for the project. A bench comprising Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji clarified that all steps taken towards implementation would be subject to the outcome of the PIL. The court adjourned the matter to 9 September.

Environmental Appraisal Under Fire

The PIL, filed by the Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi, contends that the tunnel alignment passes through ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) in Thiruvambady (Kozhikode) and Vellarimala (Wayanad)—zones identified by both the Gadgil and Kasturirangan committees as highly vulnerable. It alleges that the environmental appraisal conducted by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) was inadequate and that the project requires evaluation at the central level.

The petitioners have questioned the competence of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report prepared by the Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) on behalf of the Kerala government. They argue KRCL is neither accredited by the Quality Council of India nor authorised to conduct EIAs for large infrastructure projects.

“There is a serious conflict of interest,” says environmental scientist Sreedhar Radhakrishnan, based in Thiruvananthapuram. “Assigning feasibility studies and EIA preparation to the very agency tasked with construction is a procedural lapse. It undermines scientific scrutiny and transparency.”

Landslides, Biodiversity and the Cost of Speed

The proposed tunnel runs beneath Vavul Mala, the highest peak in the Kozhikode district at 7,677 feet, and one of the wettest parts of the Western Ghats. The area—part of the Nilgiris-Wayanad-Coorg biodiversity corridor—is home to numerous varieties of flora and fauna, including the critically endangered Banasura Laughingthrush. Chembra Peak, a major ecotourism destination, and several elephant corridors also lie above the proposed route.

Puthumala, a settlement near Chooralmala, experienced a deadly landslide in August 2019 that left seven people dead and six missing. "The soil piping and surface erosion that triggered that disaster are the same processes that still threaten these hills," says N Badusha, president of the Samithi that has filed the PIL. “This project could unleash hundreds of tonnes of rock, destroying pristine forests and habitats.”

Badusha and others also express the concern that tunnelling may destabilise ancient rock formations—some over 150 million years old—that receive up to 1,000 mm of rainfall per day during the peak of the monsoon season.

Land Acquired but Critics Unconvinced

Despite opposition, the state government has fast-tracked land acquisition for the road tunnel project. In Wayanad, 8.32 hectares have already been handed over to the PWD. In Kozhikode, 9.3 out of 11.16 hectares have been acquired. An afforestation fund of Rs 3.8 crore has been allocated, and an additional Rs 108 crore earmarked for building a 17.5-kilometre approach road from Thiruvambady to the tunnel entrance at Marippuzha.

The entire project is to be funded through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), which will raise money via borrowings and institutional deposits. Construction will be carried out by the Uralungal Labour Contract Society under the supervision of KRCL.

But critics question the project’s basic assumptions. “If the government’s rationale is improving medical access during disasters, why not invest Rs 213 crore to build a state-of-the-art hospital in Wayanad?” asks K Raveendran, a hotelier from Pozhuthana near Vythiri. “Many lives could have been saved in the past had there been proper medical facilities available locally.”

Vythiri itself was severely hit by landslides during the 2018 floods, which destroyed the town’s bus stand and police station.

Is it Development or Disaster?

The proposed tunnel promises to cut the travel distance from Kozhikode to Kalpetta by 31 km, avoiding the existing 13-km Ghat stretch with nine hairpin bends that regularly become clogged with traffic. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said the tunnel will be completed in 34 months and will “ensure environmental safeguards”.

But many locals and environmentalists remain unconvinced. They point to the recent scrapping of the SilverLine semi-high-speed rail project, abandoned after massive public protests over its environmental and social impact, as evidence that development without consent or caution can backfire.

“This tunnel may become another SilverLine,” warns Radhakrishnan. “It’s not just about trees and rocks. It’s about human lives, biodiversity, and our collective future.”