By Meera Bhardwaj
The BJP government in Karnataka reveals its true colors by DISREGARDING THE OPINION OF ITS THREE MPs as also the massive public opinion on the issue of retaining 269 square kilometers as ESZ (eco sensitive zone) for BANNERGHATTA NATIONAL PARK (BNP) – the one and only lung space of Bengaluru.
Even as the Karnataka High Court directed the state government on 16.01.2020 to finalize the ESZ for Bannerghatta NP, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa quietly wrote to the Centre and extended his open support for DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITIES IN THE ‘ESZ’ and opted for a drastic 100 square kilometer reduction. With this, the last remaining green space of Bengaluru – Bannerghatta will have the flimsiest protection as its ESZ – a mere 100 meters on the northern side of the Park. Now Surya City, Phase-IV of Karnataka Housing Board can easily buy fertile farm lands from 2225 farmers for conversion and easily build concrete high rise buildings in the path of elephants and that too abutting the boundary of the national park.
The Chief Minister further clearly comes out in support of developmental projects around BNP when he reiterates they are at a standstill now. Therefore, ESZ has to be finalized so that they can be taken up just 100 meters from the boundary of the park. Activists add already a private bottling plant, 3-4 new residential layouts, a few commercial complexes including a Dargah are coming up here. The government’s stand shows now they can “happily co-exist” with small and big herbivores or may be, live in constant conflict with wildlife. Be ready for compensation payments to people building their homes on the Park boundary or drive out the pachyderms from Bannerghatta, citing them as dangerous to man’s existence, they add.
Unsustainable Stand
Despite the Central advisory on 20.8.19 – not to go in for reduction, the CM’s decision shows how the mining and real estate lobbies are working overtime to grab sensitive lands around forests for their own greed and not the city’s well being, says a city Congress politician, not willing to be identified.
Writing to Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change on February 2nd, Chief Minister has stated, “Seeing the ground realities and its close proximity to Bengaluru, we have made certain modifications and reduced the area by 100 square kilometers. There is no change in our stand at all. So, the Centre should finalize our recommendation (33rd ESZ expert committee held its meeting on 28.2.19 and recommended 100 sq kms reduction in the ESZ) and publish the final notification.”
Litigation on ESZ
Despite the continuing opposition and year long public protests, [100,000 people’s support] citizens, environmentalists, NGO groups and of course, the three Bengaluru MPs, the state government has maintained its rigid stand and gone the whole way for the 2018 ESZ draft. Angry and concerned city eco groups and activists say this was basically done to help stone quarries, new residential layouts, Surya City-Phase-4, a bottling plant and what not in the proposed ESZ area. “As it is, the government has shut its eyes and ears and allowed development works – formation of new layouts and commercial activities to be taken up in the ESZ area which is very close to the boundary of the park says, Bhanuprakash of Bannerghatta Nature Conservation Trust.
The Trust had filed a public interest litigation in December last. On January 16, the High Court in its interim order directed the state government not to take up any commercial or developmental works in a 10 KM default ESZ area around the national park till the final notification is issued. In fact, the petitioners had stated in their PIL – with reduction in the proposed ESZ, it would seriously jeopardize the ecology of the region and the city of Bengaluru. Leaving so many villages out of the purview of ESZ and taking up development and commercial activities would not only affect the forest habitat but also the elephant corridor and a range of wildlife including herbivores and carnivores.
Political Flip-flop
Angered by the continuing flip flop behavior of politicians, concerned citizens and activists question the credibility of the elected representatives on this issue as all three members of parliament from Bengaluru had come out in total support of retaining the 2016 ESZ proposal but later kept quiet when their own CM wrote two letters to the Centre requesting for drastic reduction in ESZ.
Urban Conservationist and Project Vruksha founder Vijay Nishanth wonders whether the state government listens to the opinion of its own elected representatives in a ‘democracy’ or for that matter the opinion of the citizens of Bengaluru on this burning issue. He adds, “More than 1 lakh citizens had come out in support of Bannerghatta’s ESZ issue and vociferously demanded total protection to save the city of Bengaluru. But now looking at the attitude of state governments, right from Siddaramaiah to Yeddyurappa, it seems no one is interested in protecting the state or solving its burning environmental issues. It is only lip sympathy for such issues. For them, environment protection means aiding and abetting more and more unsustainable developmental activities in the form of elevated corridors, felling of thousands of trees in Bengaluru, white topping, widening of national highways in Bengaluru and Western Ghats. If this continues I don’t know where the state will end up …”
Sounding the death knell
Bannerghattas is part of a contiguous wildlife habitat of nearly 1400 sq. kms within the Mysore Elephant Reserve, says a forest official. The national park in the vicinity of Bengaluru has a healthy breeding population of Asiatic elephants, high faunal and floral diversity as also an important watershed for several tributaries that join the Cauvery River….
Lending his support, wildlife Conservationist from Chikkamagaluru, D V Girish says, “This is the final nail in the coffin of not only Bannerghatta but also other forests in Karnataka. Now only God can help the people who are living in the deteriorating and unlivable environment of Bengaluru. This February, the city recorded the highest temperatures more than Chennai and Kolkata. The coming days, one will see more adverse effects……”
This is neither surprising nor shocking as this state government has taken up so many unsustainable infrastructure and road development projects in the World Biodiversity Hot Spot of Western Ghats. Sahadev S H of Paschima Ghatta Jaagruti Vedike says, “Some 24 projects that includes widening of National Highways, river diversion, lift irrigation projects, four laning of NHs, power plants, etc are going on and sounding the death knell for Western Ghats. We have already lost substantial tree cover – lakhs of trees which will have a drastic effect on both air and water. Many tributaries are turning dry during summers due to cutting down of forests. This is just the tip of the iceberg as many other projects that are in the proposal stage will be implemented soon and then one can imagine the havoc it will cause in the state…”
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