Guwahati, May 23 -- Plans to widen National Highway 127B in Meghalaya under the Bharatmala Pariyojana involve diverting 35 hectares of deemed forest and felling an estimated 4,500 trees in the Garo hills, raising critical concerns about biodiversity loss and local impact, including jeopardized rare wildlife and disrupted livelihoods, according to a report.

The report indicates that the highway connecting Srirampur in Assam to Nongstoin in Meghalaya will see a 36.635 km stretch upgraded to two lanes with paved shoulders.

While the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's advisory committee has granted "in-principle" approval for the diversion of reserved and deemed forest, environmentalists and locals fear the ecological cost...