Ranchi, April 25: There’s some relief for National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), as the National Board for Wildlife today gave its initial clearance for the four-laning project on NH-33.

The initiative, on the 41.34km Barhi-Hazaribagh stretch on the highway, has received big boost with the sanction of 8.5km land from Hazaribagh sanctuary.

The 8.5km stretch is home to 11,000 trees, which will now be felled.

But the clearance came with unique riders that NHAI would have to abide by — a stern directive to construct speedbreakers to retard mishaps, and flyovers at a height that does not disturb animal habitations nearby — set by the state forest department and backed by the Union minister for forest and environment Jairam Ramesh.

“Besides the regular environmental clearance conditions as mentioned in the Wildlife Act, we had put some additional conditions before the actual clearance, which was fortunately accepted at the meeting,” said principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) J.B. Jauher, over phone from New Delhi.

According to normal rules, for each hectare of forestland that is diverted for non-forest activities, one has to pay for plantation of twice the land. This apart, the land should only be used for the purpose for which trees are felled.

The new conditions set by Jauher include construction of three flyovers within the 8.5km stretch and building speed-breakers at regular intersections. “We have asked NHAI to construct speed-breakers every 1.5km to 2km to reduce accidents on the way due to over-speeding of vehicles. Secondly, three flyovers — 6min height and 700mt in length — should be constructed at this stretch so that animals are not disturbed by vehicles,” said Jauher, adding that proper signage indicating the presence of animals should be in place, too.

The, NHAI will receive its final clearance, according to Jauher, from R.P. Tiwari, the nodal officer of Forest (Conservation) Act in Bhubaneswar, who directly reports to the Union ministry for forest and environment.

“The department has already sent a file to Bhubaneswar, which is awaiting clearance from New Delhi. I think it will be cleared soon,” he said

The development came as welcome relief for NHAI officials, they said.

“We haven’t yet received any information but we are hoping for positive results,” said M.K. Pandey, manager, NHAI. He however, refrained from talking further about the status of the project.

Meanwhile, Subernarekha multi-purpose project was also discussed in the meeting. The forest department has agreed to submit a compliance report in two months time.