It appears to be a protracted highway forward for eight proposed protected areas to get Karnataka authorities’s nod. Whereas the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) has permitted eight proposals for the declaration of latest protected areas, official paperwork accessed by The Indian Specific present that the federal government has been sitting on them since 2019.
Though the board, headed by Karnataka Chief Minister Basvaraj Bommai, has already permitted the proposals, the delay is attributed to a 2019 rule that mandates Cupboard approval for the addition and deletion of areas to wildlife sanctuaries and eco-sensitive zones.
Senior forest officers and wildlife conservationists have expressed their reservations over the difficulty of looking for Cupboard approval when the SBWL, headed by the CM, has already permitted the proposals.
The brand new proposals have been tabled earlier than the SBWL primarily based on the calls for of the folks and, in just a few circumstances, even by political representatives.
Earlier, the process to declare and notify protected areas was such that the forest officers, honorary wildlife wardens, or conservationists made the proposals to inform new protected areas, together with their enlargement, and so they have been positioned within the SBWL assembly. Choices have been taken within the assembly. Gazettes have been notified primarily based on the choice taken. This was the observe until mid-2019.
Nonetheless, the state authorities introduced an modification to Karnataka Authorities (Transaction of Enterprise) Guidelines, 1977, which mandated Cupboard approval for the addition and deletion of areas to wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves an,d eco-sensitive zones.
Owing to this modification, the way forward for eight such proposals appears bleak.
A senior forest officer on the situation of anonymity stated, “The proposals for declaring fowl and wildlife sanctuaries have been despatched to the federal government after approval was given by the SBWL, which is headed by the chief minister. These proposals have been primarily based on long-pending calls for by the folks and public representatives. Regardless of the CM approving them, the federal government is but to formally declare them as protected areas. It’s unlucky that we’ve to attend for Cupboard nod.”
Wildlife conservationist Giridhar Kulkarni has in a letter to CM Basavaraj Bommai and Chief Wildlife Warden Vijaykumar Gogi, who can also be the member secretary of SBWL, defined the results attributable to the delay in Cupboard approval and why it was important to strike off Cupboard approval for notification of protected areas.
Whereas hinting in regards to the possibilities of political interference when the proposals go for Cupboard approval Kulkarni identified that even the choice of the SBWL in 2019 to declare Mullayyanagiri as a Conservation Reserve is but to be notified for the reason that authorities has directed to submit the revised proposal.
“SBWL is a statutory physique comprising the CM, forest minister, MLAs, and discipline consultants. Choices to declare the protected areas are taken with due diligence and subsequently, it is probably not a great improvement to refer the selections of a statutory physique to the Cupboard, which is the manager physique, once more headed by the Chief Minister. There’s each probability of political interference, which can have severe implications on wildlife conservation thereby defeating the very objective of a statutory physique just like the State Board for Wildlife,” Kulkarni stated.
“Many proposals for notifying sure areas as protected zones are pending for greater than three years which is unquestionably not a great improvement within the curiosity of wildlife conservation. Therefore, it’s excessive time to eliminate the necessary requirement of approval of Cupboard sub-committee and Cupboard for notifying Protected Areas,” he stated.
The record permitted by the State Board for Wildlife for notifying them as protected areas together with its date
Netravati Island Conservation Reserve – 09.01.2019
Bonal Fowl Conservation Reserve – 26.09.2019
Arasikere Sloth Bear Sanctuary- 26.09.2019
Chikkasangama Fowl Conservation Reserve- 19.01.2021
Bankapur Wolf Sanctuary- 19.01.2021
Mundige Kere Conservation Reserve- 19.01.2021
Uttaregudda Sanctuary- 19.01.2021
Hiresoolikere Sloth Bear Conservation Reserve- 19.01.2021