Concern over land conversion proposals before Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary ESZ monitoring committee

Mysuru's ESZ monitoring committee to discuss 7 new eco-tourism projects despite restriction on new projects in ESZ notification. Land conversion proposal raises concerns of habitat disturbance. High Court judgement states to reduce pressure on elephant habitat. Task Force recommends mitigatory measures against large-scale tourism infrastructure. No provision to take up new eco-tourism projects in ESZ, hence proposals should be rejected.

A slew of proposals for eco-tourism projects is coming up before the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) monitoring committee of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary despite a clear restriction on new projects in the ESZ final notification.

Documents accessed by The Hindu indicates that as many as seven new proposals will come up before the monitoring committee for discussion at Chamarajanagar on Thursday, August 3, and the meeting will be chaired by Regional Commissioner of Mysuru.

However, the ESZ notification for Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary which was issued on August 22, 2017 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change clearly states that no new commercial hotels and resorts shall be permitted within 1 km of the boundary of the protected area or up to the extent of ESZ zone whichever is nearer ‘’except for small temporary structures for eco-tourism activities’’.

But there are concerns over the land conversion proposal before the ESZ monitoring committee on the grounds that land conversion sought is large enough to create habitat disturbance. The land in question are survey numbers 2/1, 2/2, survey numbers 3, and 5 in Uyamballi in Kanakapura taluk of Ramanagar district.

Sources said such large-scale conversion was also in violation of the High Court of Karnataka Judgement delivered on October 8, 2013 in which it is clearly stated that the State shall take necessary steps to reduce pressure on the elephant habitat.

Incidentally, the State had also accepted before the High Court the recommendations of the Karnataka Elephant Task Force to take mitigatory measures against large-scale tourism infrastructure as they had the potential to sever habitat connectivity and create disturbances to elephants and other wildlife.

With respect to Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in particular, the task force noted that problem had persisted in the sanctuary and also the adjoining Mandya and Kollegal forest divisions where unregulated influx of tourists along certain sections of the road skirting the river Cauvery causes direct disturbance to elephants and impedes their access to the river.