The Forest Department has postponed its public hearing scheduled on November 10 on the need to cut 628 trees for the widening of Ujire-Dharmasthala-Periyashanthi Road by the National Highways Division under the Public Works Department (PWD).
The hearing was scheduled at the Belthangady Inspection Bungalow of the PWD at 11 a.m. on Monday.
An official release quoting the Deputy Conservator of Forest, Mangaluru Division, said on Tuesday, November 4, that the hearing has been postponed due to unavoidable reasons. The release did not mention the next date of hearing.
Of the trees proposed to be cut, 222 are on non-forest government land and 406 are on non-forest land.
It is worth mentioning that the 30 km-long road in question connects to the National Highway 75 (Mangaluru-Bengaluru) at Periyashanthi and witnesses the highest traffic of tourist vehicles.
This will be the first road upgradation project under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) to be taken up in Dakshina Kannada. Under HAM, the government gives 40% of the project cost as construction support during the construction period, and the remaining 60% as annuity payments plus interest to the concessionaire throughout the operations period. The payment made in the later stage will be based on the assets created and the performance of the developer.
According to PWD officials, when this project is completed, the distance from Ujire to Periyashanthi will be reduced by 1.5 km to 28.5 km owing to the correction of road curves. The stretch from Ujire to Dharmasthala will be upgraded to four lanes while the stretch between Dharmasthala and Periyashanthi will be made a two-lane road with a paved shoulder.
Published – November 04, 2025 07:47 pm IST
