New Delhi : The Central Empowered Committee(CEC) appointed by the Supreme court today stayed the proposed bridge over Maniyari River in Achanakmar sanctuary in the central Indian Chhattisgarh state. The proposed bridge was to connect the villages of Chhaparwa and Surhi inside the Achanakmar wildlife sanctuary.  The petition was filed by Anurag Shukla of the Nature Club in Chhattisgarh and supported by the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation. The CEC also asked the state government to clear the construction material and debris lying on the site immediately.

The proposed site was located in the core area of the sanctuary and would have considerably increased the traffic during the night adding to the disturbance caused by the existing Bilaspur-Shahdol highway. The bridge would have also lead to the construction of other peripherals like a metalled road, school, clinics, etc. Mr Shukla said that the bridge and the road would ultimately provide poachers an easy access to the core area of the sanctuary.

The construction of this bridge also went against the decision of the State Forest department, which has already proposed this area to be declared as a Project Tiger Reserve. Under this plan, many of forest villages were to have been shifted to peripheral areas to give a boost to wildlife.