Reeds present a compelling case for conservation in Vikarabad Premium

Village commons have become scarcer in developed states such as Telangana, thanks to unbridled, end-to-end expansion of real estate.

Village commons have become scarcer in developed states such as Telangana, thanks to unbridled, end-to-end expansion of real estate. An unaccounted, uncared for and unintended consequence of such a phenomenon is the loss of wildlife and biodiversity associated with the open lands, which has become a topic for study of late.

Two wildlife enthusiasts, Ch. Pradeep Prazz and Pranay Juvvadi, have been looking for ways to bring an expanse of such wilderness to the notice of the authorities, for conservation and protection.

Realty has already made inroads into the grasslands spread over 2,100 acres amid the Yenkathala, Ramnathgudpalle and Govindapur villages in Mominpet mandal, and Arkathala village of Nawabpet mandal in Vikarabad district.

Ventures are coming up close to it, and roads are being laid through the grass, which is the habitat to a wide variety of fauna.

A proposal has been submitted to the Forest department by the duo for declaring the grasslands along with the surrounding scrub forested hills as a conservation reserve. A proposal has been made also to the Telangana State Biodiversity Board to declare it as a Biodiversity Heritage Site. None has received any response so far, with Forest officials sounding sceptical about the same, as the land belongs to the Revenue department, and is highly valued in terms of real estate.

“Biodiversity is entrenched in popular psyche as something inalienable from forests and greenery, which is not true. Grasslands and what we term as wastelands and rocky, barren lands have their own ecosystems which are often ignored,” says Juvvadi, an ecologist and independent researcher.

A large proportion of Savannah grasslands in India falls outside the Forest department, and hence, unprotected. They have shrunk from 18.8 million hectares in 2005 to 12.3 million hectares in 2015, as per data presented to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification during the 14th Conference of Parties held in Uzbekistan.