Take opinion of people for Hesarghatta to be declared conservation reserve, says CM
The Hindu
Bengaluru
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bomamai, who chaired a meeting of the Karnataka State Wildlife Board on Thursday to discuss the proposal to declare Hesargahatta as a conservation reserve, has asked stakeholders to take the opinion of people before taking a final decision on the issue.
A decision to declare the grassland as a conservation reserve was expected to be taken in the meeting. However, it remained inconclusive. A board member who attended the meeting said that the Chief Minister directed officials to take the opinion of the people and also take drone footage of the entire area.
Activists have been urging the government to declare the entire area of 5,000 acres of Hesarghatta grasslands, shrublands and wetlands as Greater Hesarghatta Grasslands Conservation Reserve. In 2021, the Forest Department had put a proposal before the State Board for Wildlife to declare the grasslands as Greater Hesarghatta Grasslands Conservation Reserve, which was rejected by the Board.
However, in July the High Court directed the State Board for Wildlife to reconsider the proposal to declare the grasslands as a Conservation Reserve. At the meeting, the Chief Minister is also said to have asked the stakeholders to consider the proposal of the board which has been urging to lay underground transmission cables in protected areas to prevent wildlife death.
”We have been suggesting to lay underground transmission cables in national parks and sanctuaries and to do away with overhead cables. The Chief Minister has asked the stakeholders such as KPTCL to look into this proposal,” said a member.
On the Kappatagudda in Gadag district issue, he said that the board has submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister and apprised him of rampant mining and stone quarrying activities in the region.
Mining and stone quarrying companies have been seeking proposals to carry out their activities in the region. ”We did a spot visit to Kappatagudda and saw that there are at least 10-15 crushers and operational units, work materials and also that electricity supply. The Chief Minister is also aware of these activities and said that he is inclined to protect this eco sensitive zone,” he said.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.