KARNATAKA’S GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD SITE CONSTRUCTION IMBROGLIO

Meera Bhardwaj

Even as the state forest department is continuing with its anti-poaching camp construction activities, an expert team which visited and inspected said the only breeding ground for the Great Indian Bustards (GIB) at Siruguppa in Karnataka, India will be destroyed if construction activity continues.

In 2016, a rapid assessment of GIBS in Siruguppa by Dr Samad Kottur (who is now a member of the Supreme Court appointed expert panel on GIBs) revealed 12 birds within 50 square kilometres of Karnataka-Andhra border. During this survey, a male, a female and a juvenile GIB was sighted and photographed in a single frame.

The observations clearly indicated that the birds preferred this habitat as it was compatible and conducive for breeding and propagation. Further, it showed the birds were successfully breeding in the black cotton soil farmlands of eastern plains of Ballari district, Karnataka as also the third and last breeding ground for GIB.

EXPERT RECOMMENDATION

After an inspection of the GIB area thrice and also observed on June 23, this month, the team of six conservationists – Dr Samad Kottur, Santosh Martin, Anand K, Dr S K Arun, Dr Manohar and Ahiraj M have submitted their report. The team has  recommended :  

·   Immediate stoppage of any civil works at Siruguppa.

·  All the four civil structures should be demolished and the debris removed from the
site.

·   The five water holes should be removed

·  Electric lines of about one kilometre should be removed and the bore well
abandoned.

·  No plantation should be done in the vicinity of 50 kms.

·  A small room only in ground floor built for protection staff outside the GIB area

·  Form an advisory committee comprising experts to suggest/monitor GIB activity

CONSTRUCTION CONTROVERSY

Presently, the forest department has taken up the construction of two watch towers while also building an Anti-Poaching Camp (APC) which is already completed. Water holes and other facilities are being added at a cost of Rs 1.7 crore to contain poaching of blackbucks in these unprotected grasslands.

Girish, Deputy RFO, Siruguppa says, “Out of the 250 acres of land, we have utilized just a fraction of the land to build two watch towers and one building for the APC. We have two camps – one inside GIB area, one outside it as poaching activity is high with poachers from across the border very active. Due to strict vigil, cases of blackbuck hunting have come down and we have been able to control poaching 75 per cent. There are nearly 20 blackbuck herds with each comprising 5-12 animals.”

The blackbucks are spread over a large area and there are frequent complaints from farmers of crop destruction, the DRFO adds. “This area has not been fenced as it is an open grasslands area and we have done some plantation work near a school and planted neem species. We have not planted any tree species in the GIB area. We are sighting the birds now and then and recently one bird was seen,” he adds.

THE DWINDLING NUMBERS

Presently, the population of this critically endangered birds are decreasing year after year in India and their numbers are estimated to be around 120-150. Added to this, the country has only two or three GIB breeding grounds – one is Jaisalmer in Rajasthan and the other in Siruguppa. Despite the highest level of protection accorded to these shy and elusive birds, the GIB faces the threat of imminent extinction.

In Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, it has been found that the birds are unable to manoeuvre around power transmission lines as the birds are huge. Presently, an expert panel constituted by the Supreme Court is studying the reasons for the declining numbers of both GIB and Lesser Florican. Activists say the causes for their death are many – collision with transmission lines and wind turbines, conversion of grasslands to agricultural lands, ingestion of pesticides and human settlements in and around their habitat.

THE SIRUGUPPA FACTOR

Now why is the Hachcholli-Raravi area of Siruguppa considered important for GIB conservation? Sirguppa has both males and females while in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, they have only females and no males. On the verge of extinction due to continuing modern agricultural practices and rampant infrastructure development in grasslands, now fewer than 150 birds survive across four states in the country.

Now coming to Siruguppa area, this has been earmarked for GIB protection for a long time now after the GIB pioneer group alerted the forest department which in turn, managed to get land for the birds. In view of this, as part of compensatory afforestation, the Jindal group purchased 250 acres of agricultural land and handed it over to the state forest department a few years ago.

Presently, Dr S K Arun is coordinating with JSW industries for another 400 acres of land. However, based on Kottur’s report, the forest department applied for funding from the Centre. Also, a plan of action was prepared and submitted to the MoEF in addition to inviting SACON, Coimbatore for research on GIB.

TEAM’S VISIT

On June 17, when the team comprising Santosh Martin, Samad Kottur and Dr S K Arun once again visited Siruguppa they were horrified to see construction of watch towers and two storied buildings. Santosh Martin who is a co-petitioner in the Supreme Court PIL on GIB adds, “It is the core area of GIB where the forest department is building watchtowers. This is a breeding ground which has been disturbed. The GIB will now move to a different breeding site where the eggs will lose their fertility and hatching will be a big question?”

Bustards are local migrants which migrate in a particular pathway. They have their own route in the semi-arid grasslands. Usually, these birds migrate between Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The typical route is Rollapadu in Kurnool – Adoni – Sirguppa and Ballari – Koppal – Gadag and Rannebennur (but this is blocked now). Some fly towards Nanaj on the Gadag- Bagalkot – Vijaypura route. It also flies towards Raichur and Yadgir in Karnataka and several districts in AP.

Martin adds, “The distribution of GIB is across a huge area and very little has been studied so far. The tendency of these birds is if they are disturbed in Ranebennur, they will shift their breeding site to a different area where there is not much disturbance.

SUBMISSION OF REPORT

Dr Samad Kottur opined, “We have submitted our report after studying the area earmarked for GIB in Siruguppa. Watch towers are being constructed in the middle of the field. In fact, they should have been located on the Karnataka-AP border to stop any hunting of blackbucks instead of right in the middle. Now how many cases of blackbuck hunting have they booked in the last few months? Pits have been dug up for planting tree species in a grassland area.”

Further, Kottur asks, “Where was the need for five artificial waterholes for GIB or blackbucks in the middle of the core area? Where do these species drink water as they have adapted to live without water even in harsh summers? One should understand a species before taking up such activities which are detrimental to the survival of the species itself.”

The expert team concludes the buzzing construction activity is a big disturbance and disastrous for the very survival of birds. They say all buildings, water holes, trees and disturbance caused by constructions will not only destroy the grassland habitat but also drive away the Great Indian Bustards from Siruguppa as it has happened in many other places in India.

FINAL WORDS

Meanwhile, Karnataka Head of Forest Force and PCCF Sanjay Mohan told Green Minute, “We will look into this matter. As our primary aim is to protect the GIBs and its habitat, whatever corrective measures have to be taken, it will be done. If the ongoing construction activities are harmful, it will be stopped. The PCCF (Wildlife) will take a call on this after his visit to the place.”