Large stretches around two wildlife sanctuaries near Mumbai has been declared Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ).
The ESZ around the Protected Area (PA) of the Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary (Palghar district) and Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary (Thane district) will boost conservation initiatives.
The Tungareshwar WS has a PA of 85.70 sq km, the ESZ area would be 67.26 sq km to the extent of 100 mts to 4 kms.
The Tansa WS has a PA of 304.81 sq km, the ESZ area would be 499.29 sq km to the extent of 250 mts to 9 kms.
Both, Tungareshwar and Tansa are important habitats including for the leopards.
In fact, the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, sandwiched between the Eastern and Western suburbs of Mumbai is home to around 45 leopards. Besides, SGNP, Tansa, Tungareshwar, leopards have also been sighted in Aarey Milk Colony, Yeoor Hills, Karnala Bird Sanctuary and other green lungs of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
The ESZ announcement was made by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change. "This scientific demarcation of final Eco-Sensitive Zones and 10 kms from the Protected Areas will help farmers, artisans, rural people, small businesses as the uncertainty has now gone," minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted.
Published 10 August 2019, 08:31 IST