GREEN MINUTE NEWS:
In an impetus to conservation, voluntary relocation of 27 families will start soon at Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary, Belagavi district, Karnataka. This is the first of the 13 settlements that will be relocated from Bhimgad which is one of the most verdant and biodiversity rich protected areas in Karnataka.
Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary (notified in December 2011) is a protected area in the Western Ghats and home to tigers, leopards, sloth bears, gaurs, antelopes, king cobras, many other threatened species of mammals, avians, reptiles and amphibians and a threatened colony of endangered bats. Further, the Sanctuary is a unique and significant ecological habitat housing many threatened and endangered species as well as a critically important tiger corridor between Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.
The relocation of 13 settlements that are inside Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary will be done in a phased manner and the compensation amount will be fair; Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre informed the villagers during his visit last December. Further, the interest of the relocated families will be safeguarded, he assured.
About 27 families living in Gavali village, Talewadi that is located inside the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary have voluntarily agreed to relocate outside the protected area. These families were living under the continuing threat of wildlife attacks and fearing their own survival. In fact, villagers hailing from the 13 settlements inside the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary had been pleading for relocation for the last 12-13 years.
Forest, ecology and environment Minister Eshwar Khandre said, “27 families have come forward and they have voluntarily agreed to relocate and will become part of the mainstream of society. On May 17, these families will be paid Rs 10 lakh each as part of the first phase of relocation program. The remaining amount of Rs 5 lakh for the relocation program will be paid to each of the families after verification and confirmation by the forest officials.”
It was during the last December Vidhan Sabha session at Belagavi; the decision for relocation was taken after a visit by Eshwar Khandre to this area and interaction with the people living inside the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary. Finally, after discussions with the Gram Sabha, the decision to relocate was finalized.
For the people living inside this protected area, it has been a difficult life as they are deprived of the basic facilities like water, power, roads, education and any kind of medical facilities. It is an arduous task for patients to be transported during the night from the dense jungles to the nearest town in case of any emergency, the villagers said. Falling in a zone that receives high rainfall, villagers living inside the sanctuary used to face inordinate problems and are marooned for days in these dense jungles.
For the state government, it is not an easy task to relocate more than 750 families and that too voluntarily who have been living for decades inside the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary. The resettlement program is not going to be easy as some villagers are opposing it and some activists have alleged that proper procedures are not being followed for relocation.
Taking all these factors into account, the forest minister said the relocation of Talewadi-Gavali village will set a precedent for people living in the remaining settlements who are waiting to be relocated.