Save Mollem

Scientist share is back with an exciting new session with

Don’t forget to tune in!

Scientist Share May 2026
5:30 pm - 6:45 pm
Fri, 22 May 2026

Join with Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/svf-nxcp-dev

Design by

In the past few months, we have been sharing taxa-wise information on what went missing in the Wildlife Institute of India (WII)'s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the railway double-tracking project through Mollem National Park and Kali Tiger Reserve.

In the last of the taxa series, we have the Mammals section. Read about all the species documented in their camera trap-only survey, and all the species that remain to be documented.

Keep reading and sharing. 🐯🐯🐯 Our voices are making a difference!



Artwork by

Taking flight from reality: How the Wildlife Institute of India’s (WII) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in the proposed Railway Double-tracking through Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary (BMWLS), Mollem National Park, and Kali Tiger Reserve (KTR) misidentifies, misreports and excludes bird species and their habitats.

Critical bird habitats (for nesting, roosting, etc) were not identified in the EIA despite being a part of its objectives. Of the 125 valid species observed, 18 (14.4%) fall under Schedule I and 105 (84%) under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act. However, this legal conservation status was not reported for any of the species.

Several of the reported species don’t even exist in the study region. The Fork-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) is an Afro-tropical species - but is mentioned six times! The Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes lucidus), reported thrice, is endemic to the Philippines.

The report claims that four Long-tailed Minivets (Pericrocotus ethologus) were observed - but this species has no known distribution south of Madhya Pradesh. The Indian Yellow Tit (Machlolophus aplonotus) was called Periparus ater, which refers to the Himalayan Coal Tit, not a species known from Goa. Square-tailed Bulbul (Hypsipetes ganeesa) was listed as Hypsipetes leucocephalus, the name for the Himalayan Black Bulbul. The Green Warbler (Phylloscopus nitidus) and Greenish Warbler (Phylloscopus trochiloides) were both listed with high counts but referred to by the same scientific name, Phylloscopus nitidus, indicating misidentification or reporting error.

Common species such as the Malabar Barbet (Psilopogon malabaricus) and Jungle Babbler (Turdoides striata) were notably absent from the EIA and have possibly been misidentified with similar species such as the Coppersmith Barbet (Psilopogon haemacephalus) and the Yellow-billed Babbler (Turdoides affinis) respectively.

Such egregious mistakes in one of the most well documented and well studied taxa are entirely unacceptable and bring into question the integrity of the entire EIA.

Artwork by
Design by