- Why in news
- On 8 October 2026, NHAI released a document on 'Wildlife Mitigation Measures & Structures' to mark National Wildlife Week (2-8 October). Union Minister Nitin Gadkari released it at a Chintan Shivir in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat.
- What it is
- Wildlife mitigation structures are crossings and barriers built into highways so animals can move between habitats safely. They include underpasses, overpasses, culverts and canopy crossings, plus fencing, signage and speed limits. They address habitat fragmentation, barrier effects and animal-vehicle collisions.
- Number of structures
- More than 2,150 wildlife mitigation structures have been built or proposed along National Highways.
- Spending
- About Rs 19,700 crore has been invested in wildlife mitigation and related environmental protection over five years.
- Types of measures
- Structural measures include underpasses, overpasses, culverts and canopy crossings. Non-structural ones include signage, fencing and speed regulation.
- Fencing and noise barriers
- Guide fencing and noise barriers cover over 300 km of highway alignments, to steer animals to crossing structures.
- Monitoring
- NHAI uses camera trapping to track wildlife movement and review how well the measures work.
Don’t confuse with Underpass vs overpass: An underpass lets animals pass beneath the road; an overpass is a vegetated bridge over the road. The release says more was spent on underpasses (about Rs 4,600 crore) than overpasses (about Rs 650 crore).
Don’t confuse with Structural vs non-structural measures: Structural measures are built crossings. Non-structural measures are fencing, signage, speed limits and noise barriers.
Environment: Prelims tests bodies, programmes and the law behind them; Mains asks why plans fall short.
Why it matters
- Reduces habitat fragmentation and wildlife deaths on roads, supporting biodiversity conservation.
- Shows an effort to balance infrastructure growth with environmental safeguards and make highways safer for users too.
Problems
- Crossings work only if animals use them; design and placement depend on local ecology and movement patterns.
- Highway expansion through sensitive corridors keeps raising conflicts between development and conservation.
Way forward
- Use monitoring data such as camera trapping to evaluate and improve crossing designs.
- Plan mitigation at the alignment stage with conservation agencies, as the document stresses collaboration.
Put in your answer
Guide fencing and noise barriers: Fencing and noise barriers over 300 km are an example of non-structural mitigation.
- 2016Mains GS3 · Q14Measures to mitigate environmental impacts of major development projects, such as rehabilitation
- 2026Mains GS3 · Q7How to manage infrastructure development versus disaster-risk reduction in ecologically sensitive areas
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Lasting topic of roads and wildlife corridors. The release gives spending and structure counts but no legal or body facts a question can turn on.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.