At last, Mansinghdeo is a sanctuary

At last, Mansinghdeo is a sanctuary
Nov 27, 2010,
NAGPUR/MUMBAI: Former chief minister Ashok Chavan had to quit office over Adarsh society building that had vilated environment laws, but days before leaving office, he gave a big boost to conservation efforts by notifying the Mansinghdeo Wildlife Sanctuary adjoining Pench.

The official notification for 183 sq km Mansinghdeo Sanctuary was issued on November 2. It includes 174 sq km reserve forest (RF) and 9 sq km protected forest (PF). This fulfils a 17 year old demand for declaring the area as sanctuary. At present, the state had 41 protected areas (PAs), covering 15,331 sq km, which is 5% of state's geographical area. It should be over 7% as per forest policy. Mansinghdeo is the 42nd protected area.

The original proposal for Mansinghdeo was submitted in July 1993 by conservationists Prafulla Bhamburkar and Nitin Desai of World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Since then, the proposal was stuck in red tape. On June 14, 2007, the State Wildlife Board (SWB), headed by chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, approved the proposal.

It still did not materialise due to opposition from FDCM that had its standing teak plantations on a part of the area. In 2008, chief minister Ashok Chavan had almost made up his mind to declare Mansinghdeo a sanctuary. He fulfilled his promise before leaving office.

Mansingdeo will comprises 74 sq km (23 compartments) area of FDCM; 99 sq km (41 compartments) of Nagpur Forest Division and 9 sq km area as PF including some rithi (abandoned) area of Bakhari. The area is rich in wildlife and is contiguous with Pench Tiger Reserve, a prime habitat for tigers, leopards and other wildlife. Located between Pench, Nagzira, Tadoba and Melghat, Mansinghdeo will help connect these habitats to each other.

TOI was first to report the covert move by the state government to curtail the Mansingdeo area to 143 sq km by keeping FDCM area out. Based on this report on July 8, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) chairman M K Ranjitsinh raised the issue with Union minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh.

Ramesh then wrote to then CM Chavan cautioning that any move to curtail Mansinghdeo area will lead to holding back the denotification of 8,500 sq km Nanaj Bustard Sanctuary in Kolhapur. The National Board for Wild Life (NBWL) had asked the state to declare six sanctuaries including Mansinghdeo in lieu of 8,500 sq km bustard sanctuary, which will be reduced to 1,200 sq km.

The other proposed sanctuaries to be notified include Isapur Bird Sanctuary (Yavatmal) 121.55 sq km; Rajmachi in Thane, Pune and Alibag (122.96 sq km); Sudhagarh-Tamni in Western Ghats (220.18 sq km); and Kopela (90.93 sq km) and Tipagarh (52.4 sq km) in Gadchiroli district.

Kishor Rithe, chief of Satpuda Foundation, said during a meeting with Chavan in October, among the host of assurances, Mansinghdeo was one. "We should really thank him for his gift to tigers," he said. "It's good that entire 183 sq km area has been notified. Curtailing the sanctuary would have meant Mansingdeo losing meaning. It is richer than Pench and is contiguous," said Prafulla Bhamburkar, manager of WTI.

"A study to reassess wildlife presence needs to be done in the current situation," felt Nitin Desai, Central India director of Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI). Forest officials said the proposal was delayed as Saoner MLA Sunil Kedar was concerned about six villages that would be unable to use roads if the area was declared a sanctuary.

"There are no villages in the Mansinghdeo area itself," officials said. The six villages Dhavlapur, Ghatkukda, Saleghat, Sawangi, Pardi and Ambezari are not part of the sanctuary but their connectivity would be affected.

source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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