TOI : Eco-zones near natl parks: State govt wants a say : Oct 3, 2007
Eco-zones near natl parks: State govt wants a say
Prafulla Marpakwar | TNN
Mumbai: Maharashtra forest minister Babanrao Pachpute has urged the Union
government to consider his views before implementing the national wildlife
board’s proposal to create 10-km eco-sensitive belts around all national
parks and sanctuaries.
Following the lead taken by Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, a
high-level meeting was held in Delhi a week ago to discuss the problems
faced by the state forest department, particularly with private forestland,
pending irrigation projects and rehabilitation of villages near national
parks and sanctuaries.
It was submitted that if a 10-km zone around the six national parks and
35 sanctuaries in Maharashtra was declared eco-sensitive, development
activities in those areas would come to a grinding halt. Second, there was a
demand to denotify at least 20 sanctuaries across the state.
“Under the norms prescribed by the Centre, construction of multi-storey
buildings and setting up of hazardous industries will be prohibited once an
area is declared ecosensitive. In fact, it will create new problems. We have
called for a meeting of all the states to discuss the proposal,” a senior
forest official told TOI.
In the event of Delhi issuing an order providing for ecosensitive zones,
Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivli will be the first ‘victim’. Major
development work outside the parks will have to be abandoned for ever, it is
feared.
Pachpute has requested the Centre to grant extension for general
approval of diversion of forestland up to one hectare for government
projects. Under the provisions of the forest conservation act, the Centre
had empowered the state government on the use of one hectare of forestland
for official projects. But Delhi has now withdrawn the said order. “We found
that even for small projects involving one hectare of forestland, we had to
approach the Centre, thereby delaying the projects. We have urged the Centre
to extend the order,” the official said.
On the inadvertent use of forestland for non-forest purposes, the
official stated that it was found in a large number of cases in Maharashtra
that violation of the forest conservation act had taken place inadvertently.
For instance, the owner did not know that a particular plot was forestland
or otherwise.
In such cases, the central government used to clear projects with the
stipulation that the status of land would remain as forest. “We have asked
the Centre to consider these cases sympathetically. We will ensure that the
status of forestland will not be changed,” the official said.
Maharashtra, he pointed out, has been facing a problem since 2002 after
elephants from Karnataka entered Konkan. From the initial seven, their
number has risen to 22. According to records, the elephants destroyed crops
worth Rs 3 crore besides killing seven persons in a year. “We have paid
compensation to the relatives of the deceased. Now, we have sought nearly Rs
2 crore from the Centre to tackle the menace,” he added.
Pachpute has sought Rs 390 crore for the rehabilitation of nearly 8,000
families around national parks and sanctuaries. Estimates show it has to be
done in 70 villages.
CAUSE FOR CONCERN