Policies & Politics

[Rishi]

Reinforce rules in tiger corridors, buffer zones: NTCA 

After Maharastra's Chief Wildlife Warden had been bypassed in a road development projects in corridor and buffer of six tiger reserves in Vidarbha. There are already protests against road development around Bandipur reserve in Karnataka.

Both, NTCA, the topmost authority monitoring tigers reserves in the country, and CWLWs are being ignored while implementing these linear projects. A CWLW is the deciding authority in every state on wildlife matters.

Of the 1,697 road, irrigation, and railway projects, 399 projects worth Rs1.3 lakh crore are coming up in the tiger landscape of Central India and Eastern Ghats, spread over 8 states & home to 688 (31%) of the country's tigers.

Significantly, proposers of 345 of the 399 projects are not aware of the tiger corridor status of forestland patches that they seek to divert. Such unplanned development threatens the future of tigers in the country, says a report — ‘Policy framework for connectivity conservation and smart green linear infrastructure development in the Central Indian & Eastern Ghats Tiger Landscape’. The report has been prepared by Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) researchers Milind Pariwakam, Aditya Joshi, Sheetal Sheetal Navgire and Srinivas Vaidyanathan.

Realising that linear projects like roads and railways and powers lines are proving detrimental for tigers, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has directed all the chief wildlife wardens (CWLWs) in tiger ranging states to strongly comply with existing statutory provisions, by asserting assert on Section 38 (O) (1) (b) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 which says, “Evaluate and assess various aspects of sustainable ecology and disallow any ecologically unsustainable and use such as, mining, industry and other projects within the tiger reserve.”

Secondly, NTCA said, Section 38 (O) (1) (g) of the WPA states, “Ensure that the tiger reserves and areas linking one protected area or tiger reserve with another protected area or tiger reserve are not diverted for ecologically unsustainable uses, except in public interest and with the approval of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) and on the advice of the NTCA.”

In respect of projects falling within a notified tiger reserve be it core or buffer, irrespective of area involved, the project proposal needs wildlife clearance.

“Therefore, the proponents will have to submit proposal to the CWLW of the state concerned and if found sustainable, it shall be placed before the state board for wildlife (SBWL). The proposal, if agreed upon shall be forwarded for consideration of the standing committee (SC) of NBWL, who shall refer it to NTCA for advice.
Even for non-forest lands within the buffers, Section 38(O) (1)(b) shall be invoked and the CWLW can refer the matter directly to NTCA.”

In case of proposals involving corridor/linking area, irrespective of legal status of land, the proponents may have to seek wildlife or forest clearance or both. The latter clearance shall be necessitated in case legal status of the land is forest.

“We have asked the states to follow statutory provisions in letter and spirit in respect of all projects falling within the notified tiger reserves and its corridors for wildlife clearance irrespective of area involved and requirements of obtaining forest clearance or not,” said NTCA officials.

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