States continue to drag their feet about submitting details of eco-sensitive zones that fall within a 10-km radius of all national parks and sanctuaries.
Several large states, including Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Assam and West Bengal, have failed to submit details, forcing Mr Vivek Saxena, deputy inspector-general, wildlife, in the ministry of environment and forests, to shoot off yet another letter to the chief wildlife wardens of all the states and Union Territories insisting they submit all site-specific proposals by February 15.
The reason why the environment ministry is pushing for early submissions is because they believe this information will play a key role in curbing increasing mining activities and the mushrooming of resorts cropping up in areas bordering the forests.
In UP, state officials insist they are working hard to meet this deadline but senior forest office said, “Work on demarcation is progressing at a rapid pace. We have completed the work around the Kaimur sanctuary while work on the Chambal and Dudhwal National Park is at an advanced stage.”
UP has 24 wildlife sanctuaries and one national park and district level committees have been set up under district magistrates and commissioners to hasten this process of identification.
Tamil Nadu has 10 wildlife sanctuaries, 14 bird sanctuaries, five national parks and a conservation reserve. State wildlife authorities insist demarcation work will be completed within the framework of a month.
In many areas, where sensitive corridors are present, the width of an eco-sensitive zone could be extended.
The need for this demarcation was felt in 2005 when the National Board for Wildlife issued guidelines that the delineation of such zones must be site-specific, especially because of the huge amount of illegal quarrying and mining taking place both inside or close to national parks.
In Goa, 19 mining leases were located within a wildlife sanctuary and 23 were located within 1 km of a national park.
In Assam’s Kaziranga National Park, a huge amount of quarrying was taking place close to its borders.