The road transport and highways ministry is planning to build underpasses for animals on new sections of the national highways that cut through forests and wildlife sanctuaries, reported The Telegraph. The cave-like concrete structures will serve as subways for animals who are often reported killed or injured in road accidents on highways. According to the report, wildlife activists believe that at least a few hundred animals become road kill on highways every year, though there is no official data to confirm this.

The government's plan bodes well for the ministry as it might make it easier and faster to get environmental clearances for projects that pass through forests. The report said there are 10 highways in the pipeline that will pass through several sanctuaries – the Madhav National Park, the Kanha and Pench tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh; the Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand and protected forests in Assam. The ministry is planning to build 45 subways across the new highways. Union minister Nitin Gadkari holds the charge of the roads ministry.

"Most developed countries have devised systems of not affecting wildlife even when roads are built through sanctuaries. For the first time, we are going to build protected corridors in India," a senior highway division official told the English daily. He said underpasses are inevitable to balance conservation and development, and added, "If this works out successfully, we will make it a norm for all similar future projects." The road transport ministry has written to the ministry of environment and forests, and is waiting for its response. The Wildlife Institute of India and National Tiger Conservation Authority have been consulted on the plan.