Centre issued a notification to shrink the eco-sensitive zone by 100 sq km around Bannerghatta National Park which is considered as the lungs of Bengaluru.
Bengaluru| The Union government has reduced the eco-sensitive zone of Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) by around 100 sq km, that would add to the rapid erosion of green cover in Bengaluru.
In the notification released by the central government, the ESZ of the park has been reduced by a 100 sq km, to 169 sq km around the park. The reduction of the Eco-Sensitive Zone around the protected area alarmingly shrinks the boundary between the park and human-inhabited areas. While in some areas the zone shrinks to 1 km from Bengaluru city, in areas around Ramanagara the distance is as little as 100 meters. The shrinking zone not only increases the risk to the wildlife but also heightens chances of man-animal conflict in the area.
The BNP forest area would effectively lose about 100 sq km as the area expanded to over 268 sq km, until the notification was made official.
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According to a 2016 notification, an area of 268.9 sq km was earmarked as the ESZ. The 2016 notification, however, lapsed due to the opposition from the Karnataka government that didn’t submit its views as sought by the central government.
Environmentalists and BJP members including Tejasvi Surya, P C Mohan and Rajeev Chandrasekhar had spoken against the reduction of the ESZ. However, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had written a letter to Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar last month to speed up issuing the notification contending that the delay was affecting development activities in the region.
“It is going to hit Bengaluru’s lung space which is essential for us because it is the only forest patch that we have. Secondly, while reducing the ESZ you are giving license for quarrying, for which quarry owners have already approached the mining department today to start work from tomorrow (March 13). Once the mining resumes, whatever little part of the forest is intact is going to be affected by dust pollution. Water bodies will soon be filled with silt. The government should have thought about this”, said Joseph Hoover, conservationist.
Activists argue that Bengaluru has already lost out on precious green cover that has impacted its environment and adversely impacting the health of it’s over 10 million residents.
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