To the disappointment of environmentalists in Bengaluru, the Centre has notified the reduction of the eco sensitive zone (ESZ), commonly known as a buffer zone, for the Bannerghatta National Park, by 100 sq km. With this, many parts of the land surrounding the national park will be open to activities such as mining, large scale felling of trees and all sorts of commercial activities which environmental activists believe are detrimental to wildlife and green cover.
The gazette notification was published on Wednesday after Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on February 1 had written to the Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar to do the same, citing that the status quo was hurting developmental activities.
Incidentally, apart from known environmentalists, three BJP MPs (Member of Parliaments) -- PC Mohan, Tejasvi Surya and Rajeev Chandrasekhar -- had also publicly objected to this reduction. In fact, Rajeev Chandrasekhar had written to the CM to change his mind on the issue in a letter dated February 29.
Reacting to this, Bhanu Prakash, co-ordinator of Bannerghatta Eco Conservation Trust, said they will contest the notification in the Supreme Court. Incidentally, he had moved the Karnataka High Court in 2018 to stop illegal mining activities in contravention to the ecological norms. The case is still undertrial and will be heard again in April.
Vijay Nishanth, an urban conservationist based in Bengaluru criticised the BJP for this move. An online petition started by him calling for the status quo got more than 38,000 signatures.
He said, “This exposes the moral bankruptcy of the BJP government which is in power at both the Centre and the state. They are hypocrites and have double standards when they are in power. Why should they bring this notification within three days of issuing the draft notification? How come the government is suddenly so efficient? It is nothing but abuse of power to make money, whether it is for real estate or for illegal mining."
“This reduction will affect the biodiversity and turn Bengaluru into a heat island and turn it into ruins. Where will the rural people, tribals, and all the creatures living in the forest go?” he asked.
At least three detailed studies have advocated for the conservation of the buffer zone in the interest of conserving wildlife, water sources, and reducing man-animal conflicts.
Similarly, Harish Kumar, General Manager,Namma Bengaluru Foundation on the Eco Sensitive Zone Notification said, "It is unfortunate that in spite of Karnataka forest minister’s assurance, this notification has come about. NBF will petition Prakash Javadekar and will consider legal opinion."