Buffer Zone Of Bannerghatta Park Could Be Reduced, May Lead To More Human-Animal Conflict

Even as environmentalists continue to resist, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has written to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar asking him to notify the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of Bannerghatta National Park, (BNP).

According to the State Government's recommendation, the ESZ around BNP will be reduced by 100 sq km.

Currently, BNP has a buffer zone of 269 sq km, which the Yediyurappa government wants to reduce to just 169 sq km and the extent of the ESZ from a maximum of 4.5 km to a maximum of 1 km.

In the letter written to Javadekar on February 1, CM Yediyurappa said that the delay in notifying the ESZ has been affecting the development of the area.?

In 2016, the MoEF&CC had issued a draft notification declaring 268.96 sq km, ranging from 100 metres at some locations to 4.5 km in a few areas around the park, as the ESZ. In October 2018, a fresh notification was issued by the ministry declaring 168.84 sq km, ranging from 100 metres to 1 km area around the park, as the ESZ.

Last month the Karnataka High Court had restrained any new commercial or development activities, within 10 km radius of BNP, until the finalization of the draft notification on the declaration of ESZ.

A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Hemant Chandangoudar passed the interim order while hearing a petition filed by Bannerghatta Nature Conservation Trust.

According to environmentalists, the reduction of the ESZ area of BNP will cause irreversible fragmentation and damage to the fragile landscape and permanent ecological destruction, of the pristine environment.

BNP which is located on the outskirts of Karnataka's capital Bengaluru is known as a hotspot for biodiversity.?

The national park which is spread across 260.51 sqkm, just about 22 km south of Bengaluru has?over 50 animals and a hundred bird species.

Last year, a study had found that there were 40 leopards within the boundaries of the protected area, making it one of the largest clusters of big cats in the country.

The report titled ‘Leopards of Bannerghatta National Park’ was based on a study carried out by wildlife biologist Sanjay Gubbi and his team from the Nature Conservation Foundation in collaboration with the Karnataka Forest Department using camera traps.

It also noted that Bengaluru is perhaps the only metropolis in the country that has tiger, leopard, dhole, elephant, gaur, sloth bear, and other large mammals right next to the city.

In 2018, Indiatimes had reported that for the first time in years, an adult Indian Bison was spotted in the protected area of BNP, thanks to the mining ban.?

Bengaluru-based environmentalist and tree-doctor, Vijay Nishanth had recorded a herd of some 80 wild elephants in BNP, which he said had returned to the national park after mining and quarrying were stopped there.

Activists like him fear that the reduction of the ESZ will result in the resumption of mining and quarrying in the peripheries of BNP which will once again drive away the wild animals from their already shrinking habitat.