Sanctuaries in Gujarat are still waiting for their Godot

AHMEDABAD, April 30: As half the wildlife sanctuaries in Gujarat await settlement of rights of ownership, shuffling of papers from one offi...

AHMEDABAD, April 30: As half the wildlife sanctuaries in Gujarat await settlement of rights of ownership, shuffling of papers from one office to another is all that has been done on this issue in pursuance to the Supreme Court (SC) verdict of September last year.

Successive State Governments had very generously notified areas as sanctuaries and national parks, but for years, nine of the 20 sanctuaries await the transfer of the notified area from the Revenue Department to the Forest Department, which is to administer sanctuaries and national parks.

Due to this, besides stray incidents of tree felling and poaching, grazing of cattle and non-forest activities flourish in these sanctuaries. These sanctuaries are free for all there is no restriction on entry.

Story continues below this ad

The Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, home to migratory birds in winter, is a prime location for hunters and the 360-odd islets in the sanctuary are used to ferry passengers from one village to another.

Following an SC directive, DIG (Wildlife) Kishore Rao of the Ministry of Environment had written to all forest secretaries in all states on September 19, 1996 asking them to immediately settle ownership rights of all notified sanctuaries and national parks.

The Apex Court had maintained:“The forest cover is far less than the ideal minimum of one-third of total land. We cannot, therefore, afford further shrinkage of forest cover in our country. If one of the reasons for this is the entry of villagers and tribals living in and around the sanctuaries and national parks, there is a need that urgent steps must be taken to prevent any destruction or damage to environment, the flora and fauna and wildlife in those areas.”

Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) D M Naik said: “Settlement of rights in national parks and sanctuaries is a lengthy procedure and in pursuance of the Supreme Court’s directives, Collectors and Deputy Collectors in the concerned districts have been asked to take up the task.”

Story continues below this ad

The settlement of rights is done by the Revenue Department, the Collectors and Deputy Collectors of the area. But this entire procedure of settlement of rights needs financial backing to award compensation for evacuation and acquisition of land from the owners. Sources in the Forest Department said the Finance Department was not allocating funds.

But why were rights not settled at the time of notification of the sanctuary? Sources said the politicians blocked all moves to do so — settling rights would result in shifting out quite a few people from the notified areas.