<span style="color: #222222;">Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has sought alternative routes for the proposed gauge conversion of a railway line passing through the tiger habitat of the Melghat Tiger Reserve in Amravati district.<br style="color: #222222;" />''<br style="color: #222222;" />''In his letters to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Mr. Thackeray said, it would be appropriate to opt for alternative alignment of the Akola-Khandwa line considering the long-term irreversible impact the work will have on endangered species like tigers.<br />''<br />'' Stating that the proposal includes open cutting of tunnels, involving cutting and blasting of rocks using heavy machinery and explosives, the Chief Minister said, the project would reverse the benefits accrued from rehabilitation and habitat development of the reserve.<br />''<br />''The CM further said, the Wildlife Institute of India has also recommended that the best mitigation for the railway line is avoidance of upgradation through the tiger reserve and opting for alternative alignments.</span><br />