JOIN USAlways a good idea to consult locals
The Karnataka State Wildlife Board (SWB), which met recently, has deferred the proposal to declare Hesaraghatta grasslands on the outskirts of Bengaluru as a conservation reserve. Though this has disappointed environmentalists, it could actually be a blessing in disguise as Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who is the Chairman of the Board, has thus stalled efforts to commercialise the area, at least until a new government is in place after the 2023 Assembly elections. Bommai has done a balancing act against pressure from environmentalists on the one hand and the BJP’s Yelahanka MLA S R Vishwanath, on the other. The latter has opposed declaring the grasslands as a reserve area. Bommai has directed the forest department to conduct public consultations and submit a report to him to understand the issues involved. While the grasslands certainly need to be protected, it is also necessary to go through the process of consultation so that the local people, who would be the most affected by any decision, are also heard on the matter.
In January 2021, the SWB, then headed by former CM B S Yediyurappa, had rejected the forest department’s proposal to declare the entire 5,000 acre area as a conservation reserve due to Vishwanath’s opposition. Subsequently, the Karnataka High Court had pulled up the Board for taking the decision in a cavalier manner and had directed it to reconsider the matter. Vishwanath’s contention is that declaring Hesaraghatta as a protected reserve will seriously impede the livelihood of people living in nearly 50 villages. The development of the entire belt will suffer and youth who are engaged in different vocations like fish farming will be rendered jobless, he has argued. Vishwanath wants that no more than 350 acres of the grasslands should be declared as reserve area. However, environmentalists point out that the grasslands, which have over the years become natural breeding grounds for rare birds, are also home to the Indian leopard and other small and large wildlife. The green brigade, which has sought to allay fears of mass evictions, contends that the local communities can continue with their present vocations even after the reserve is declared.
No effort at conservation will succeed unless the people of the area are first taken into confidence and all their misgivings addressed. The government should arrive at a via media to ensure that the grasslands are protected while at the same time the legitimate interests of the local communities are not adversely impacted.