Target: Santosh Kumar Yadav, Chairman, National Highways Authority of India, New Delhi, India
Goal: Ensure swift wildlife-safe crossings and impose meaningful penalties on any motorists involved in wildlife hit-and-runs and on contractors who delay or compromise approved protections after repeated leopard deaths.
A leopard was struck and killed on a busy highway, adding to a distressing pattern of roadkill that has claimed five leopards in two years. Forest officials have announced walls and underpasses to guide animals away from traffic, yet every day of delay leaves leopards, jackals, and hyenas exposed to speeding vehicles and hazardous road margins. Each fatal collision stems from a preventable failure to separate fast traffic from known wildlife movement corridors.
Authorities have identified several defunct culverts to convert into wildlife underpasses and approved eight-foot guiding walls over high-risk stretches. Until these measures are operational, animals continue to venture onto carriageways where drivers may be ignoring warnings or traveling at unlawful speeds. This recurring toll suggests a systemic lapse—both from motorists who drive recklessly through known wildlife zones and from implementers who have not yet delivered urgently needed mitigation.
To stop further suffering, responsible agencies must act decisively. Immediate, enforceable timelines and transparent progress reporting are essential, as are interim slow-downs, speed cameras, rumble strips, reflective wildlife signage, and night-time enforcement. NHAI should levy strict contract penalties for any non-compliance or delay and coordinate with enforcement to identify and prosecute motorists involved in wildlife hit-and-run incidents. Sign below to protect lives and hold accountable those whose actions or inaction endanger them.
PETITION LETTER:
Chairman Yadav,
A leopard was recently found dead after a vehicle strike on a major roadway, one of several such incidents in the past two years. These recurring fatalities occur along stretches already recognized as wildlife corridors. While new guiding walls and underpasses have been announced, animals remain at risk each day these protections are not in place.
We respectfully urge NHAI to fast-track the approved underpasses and walls and to publish a firm, near-term schedule with weekly progress updates. In the interim, please implement immediate risk-reduction measures—temporary speed limits, speed cameras, wildlife warning signage, reflective fencing, and patrols—across the identified hotspots. We also ask that NHAI coordinate with law enforcement to pursue appropriate penalties for motorists involved in wildlife hit-and-run incidents, and to apply robust contractual sanctions against any contractor who delays or compromises the agreed wildlife-safety works.
These deaths are preventable. By enforcing timelines, imposing meaningful consequences for non-compliance, and delivering humane crossings without delay, your office can help end this pattern and demonstrate that India’s highways will not be corridors of suffering for wildlife.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Genie.prinks
