JOIN USStates yet to act on protecting national parks
Not a single state has notified eco-sensitive zones around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries aimed at regulating human activities and to minimise possible negative impact on the fragile eco-system encompassing the protected areas, Central Empowered Committee (CEC) informed the Supreme Court.
The apex court in 2006 directed all the states and Union territories to come forward with a proposal for declaration of eco-sensitive zones around its protected areas.
However, only states like Haryana, Gujarat, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Assam and Goa had forwarded their proposal. The indifferent stand of the states prompted a forest bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam to ask the Union government to take a final call on the pending issue.
“These eco-sensitive zones also called safety zones act as shock absorber and insulate the protected areas from the likely adverse impact of the activities in the adjacent areas,” the CEC said.
In a report submitted in the apex court, the expert panel suggested its own scheme under which grant or renewal of mining leases, setting of hazardous industries will be treated as prohibited activities in the safety zones.
The apex court was hearing a PIL on conservation of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries on Friday last week.
There are 102 national parks and 515 wildlife sanctuaries which have been notified under the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The total area covered by these national parks and sanctuaries is 1.60 lakh square km, about 4.86 per cent geographical area of the country.
Under its own scheme, the apex court-appointed CEC grouped all the protected areas into four categories based on their length and breadth. In categories ‘A’ (having area of 500 sq km or more) and ‘B’ (area between 200 to 500 sq km) it was fixed as 2 km and one km respectively while in ‘C’ (area of 100 to 200 sq km) and ‘D’ (having an area of up to 100 sq km), it was kept at 500 and 100 metre respectively.
Amicus Curiae Harish Salve, however, modified the safety zones and submitted that all the national parks and sanctuaries having area of 200 sq km or more should have a buffer zone of minimum of 2 km, while those of 100 to 200 sq km areas should have a buffer zone of 500 metres and those having less than 100 sq km area have a buffer zone of 100 metres.
The grant or renewal of mining lease, setting up of hazardous industries, brick kilns, wood based industries will be treated as prohibited activities in the safety zones. The activities like opening up of hotel, restaurants and resorts, commercial helicopter service, hydel, irrigation projects and collection of gravels, boulders and sand will be regulated activities and would be permitted only after the environmental clearance, the panel said.