Maharashtra wildlife board clears two new sanctuaries and 14 conservation reserves

The 26th meeting of the Maharashtra State Wildlife Board, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, approved proposals to give wildlife sanctuary status to two forest areas. It also approved proposals for 14 conservation reserves in seven districts.

The Kolamarka Conservation Reserve in Gadchiroli district, known for the habitat of wild buffaloes, will now be declared a wildlife sanctuary. The board also approved a proposal to declare the newly expanded area adjoining the existing Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary as a sanctuary.

The conservation reserve proposals are from Pune, Raigad, Nashik, Nandurbar, Thane, Palghar and Chandrapur districts. They include Velhe-Mulshi in Pune and Raigad districts, Bhorigad in Pune, and Dindori, Surgana and Talegaon Taharabad in Nashik. Proposals were also approved for Chinchpada in Nandurbar, Alibag and Ghera Manikgad in Raigad, Lonavala in Pune and Raigad, Gumtara in Thane, Jawhar, Asherigad and Dhamani in Palghar, and Ekara in Chandrapur.

Fadnavis presided over the meeting, while State Forest Minister Ganesh Naik took part through video conferencing. Additional Chief Secretary (Forests) Sanjay Khandare, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force M. Srinivas Rao, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Srinivas Reddy, and board member and MITRA Chief Executive Officer Praveen Pardeshi were present.

For the expansion of the Tansa sanctuary, the board approved the inclusion of 588.767 hectares of revenue and private land in six villages: Ogada, Khodde, Tirmal, Pachghar, Phansad and Amle. The aim of the proposal is to make the sanctuary free of human habitation.

The board also approved proposals to declare 100.139 square km of the Koka Wildlife Sanctuary and 255.79 square km of the Jayakwadi Bird Wildlife Sanctuary as critical wildlife habitat.

Fadnavis directed officials to include routine repair, rehabilitation and desilting of dams in sanctuaries in the management plan of each sanctuary. He said procedures should be framed in accordance with the rules and the necessary changes made to the plans within three months. He also said that, instead of seeking separate permission each time for such work, a system of prior intimation to the concerned wildlife officers should be put in place.

The board also approved proposals for infrastructure projects in protected areas, eco-sensitive areas and tiger corridors. These include irrigation facilities, health facilities, water supply projects, bridges, roads, underground optical fibre networks and power lines.

The meeting also discussed notifying the core, buffer and notified eco-sensitive areas of the state's six tiger reserves as silence zones, declaring human-wildlife conflict a natural disaster, and framing a policy for the rehabilitation of villages in buffer areas that are willing to relocate. Fadnavis directed officials to examine how these proposals could be implemented under the Disaster Management Act, the existing compensation framework and the powers of the Forest Department, and to take further action.

The Chief Minister also said a proposal should be submitted within a month for a decision on handing over to the wildlife wing the areas that have already been declared sanctuaries but are still managed by the territorial forest division or the Forest Development Corporation. He directed that staff postings, deputations and vacant posts there be studied for this purpose.