By Green Minute News
Activists across the country welcome the Centre’s decision to reject the proposal of Uttarakhand government to temporarily divert about 778 hectares of forests in the Rajaji National Park and Narendra Nagar forest division for holding and organizing the Haridwar Maha Kumbh Mela. Even as activists sent protest letters and petitions to Union Minister Prakash Javadekar saying the laws do not allow usage of forest lands for non-forest purposes, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) rejected the proposal for diverting the forests temporarily for a period of 9 months to build facilities and accommodate millions of devotees.
Rajaji National Park situated in Dehradun which has been designated a tiger reserve is home to diverse floral and faunal species and is a pristine habitat for tigers, panthers, elephants, antelopes and hundreds of bird species. According to MoEF&CC, Rajaji National Park has a significant population of tigers and its use for non-forest purposes is in clear violation of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
SHIVALIK ELEPHANTS’ PLIGHT
The forest land which had been proposed for temporary diversion has a unique biodiversity and a significant population of tigers, leopards and elephants. According to research studies by Ritesh Joshi, drastic changes in the Shivalik Elephant Reserve and the rapid rate of development and anthropogenic activities are expected to lead to a severe threat and unusual behavioural changes in elephants.
The last Maha Kumbh-2010 at Haridwar had a wide impact on elephant populations, hindering their movement as also observance of unusual behavioural responses. Development works, massive tourist influx, construction of roads between protected areas, increase in vehicles, etc are some of the activities seen during such events. Therefore, understanding how elephant populations react to events like Kumbh Mela is essential for addressing future challenges in elephant management and conservation, the researcher points out.
With the Holy Town of Haridwar undergoing rapid industrialization and increase in vehicular traffic (roads, in fact, dissect across the elephant habitat), there has been fragmentation of the elephant landscape and disruption in the movement of elephants with some Key Corridors being affected. In addition, encroachments into protected areas by local people and tourists has caused erratic patterns in the seasonal movements of elephants and other wildlife.
TEMPORARY DIVERSION DEMAND
On April 20th, the Uttarakhand APCCF had sought consent from the Centre for utilisation of forest lands in Rajaji NP and Narendra Nagar forest division for preparation and holding of the Maha Kumbh Mela. The consent had been sought for a period of nine months from September this year to May, next year for organizing a religious gathering that attracts millions of people from across the globe.
According to forest officials, this was in line with a MoEF&CC order permitting temporary use of forest land that is not part of a protected area without the Centre’s prior approval. However, this was only for a period of two weeks maximum in a non-protected area. But in the Uttarakhand proposal, it involved a protected area and would have entailed temporary construction work on forest lands to house the multitude of people attending the festival.
SHOCKING PROPOSAL
Wildlife experts and conservationists had already registered their protest against the shocking proposal as it violated the provisions of existing laws. Dashing off letters to the MoEF&CC against the proposal, many advocates, activists and conservationists had written the consent sought for usage of the protected area was in violation of both FCA and WPA and shall defeat the very purpose of the legislations which serve as the last bastion for the protection of forests and wildlife in India.
Apart from this, the consent letter said “temporary use” of forest lands and it is inconceivable how such lands will be fully restored to its original state after using it for commercial purpose and holding such a mega event, activists added. It is a well-documented fact that human-wildlife conflict has plagued the Shivalik area for decades now and holding of such events will destroy the existing fragile relationship further.
Welcoming the rejection, Environmental Lawyer Yudhist Narain Singh added, “I was shocked to see a news article stating that parts of the national park and surrounding forest areas were to be used for organising Kumbh Mela. It was an outrageous and opportunistic move by the forest officials. The damage would have been permanent. Therefore, several of us prepared petitions and submitted it to the Environment Minister to deny permission. While we are happy with this outcome, in the event that the permission had been given, we were prepared to file a petition in the Supreme Court to stop this ludicrous violation.”
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