Madhya Pradesh government has proposed 15 eco-sensitive zones around its wildlife sanctuaries and parks, where illegal commercial activities including mining will be prohibited.
A site specific proposal recommending eco-sensitive zones around Ken Gharial Sanctuary (Chhattarpur), Pachmari Sanctuary and Satpura National Park (Hoshangabad), Nauradehi Sanctuary (Sagar) and Karera Sanctuary (Shivpuri) among others has been approved by the state government, according to a document accessed by wildlife activist Ajay Dubey through RTI Act.
The move came after the state government was given a “last chance” to send a site specific proposal to identify eco-sensitive zone by the Ministry of Environment and Forests before February 15. The state government has already decided to declare such zones around 17 wildlife sanctuaries and parks including Kanha National Park (Mandla), Pench National Park (Seoni), Bandhavgarh National Park (Umaria), Panna National Park (Panna) and Kuno Palpur Sanctuary (Seopur) among others. The proposal would soon be sent to the Environment Ministry which would declare the eco-sensitive zones. According to the ministry’s norms, land falling within 10 km of a park or sanctuary has to be declared as eco-sensitive zone. The norms prohibit setting up of industries and commercial projects like hotels and resorts besides checking on mining activities among others. The MoEF has said in the letter that it will declare eco- sensitive zones around 10 km of national parks and sanctuaries if it fails to get the response from the state government before February 15 thus barring commercial and other activities harmful to environment. Madhya Pradesh, a tiger state, has 35 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.