Haryana share of forest cover is the lowest in the country but that still has not stopped the government from squandering what little it actually has.
Saraswati Wildlife Sanctuary, named after the mythical river that is still believed to flow beneath its surface, is home to about 200 hog deer.
The lively little green patch should have been treasured in a state with virtually no forest cover.
But work is in progress for the Hansi-Butana link canal project, and the canal is coming up on acres of sanctuary land.
Hundreds of trees have been felled without clearance from the Centre and the Supreme Court. According to the Wildlife Protection Act:
Only the National Board for Wildlife can alter a sanctuary’s boundary
Now, the Supreme Court’s approval is also mandatory
Punishment for non-compliance is 3-7 years in jail
The contractors are also using forest roads to transport surplus earth and machinery.
When the demand for opening up forest roads came up in May this year, the officer in-charge of the sanctuary raised objections, citing a number of explicit legal restrictions.
The Indian Forest Act forbids trespassing into a sanctuary as also felling trees. The Wildlife Protection Act bars entry to a sanctuary except for research photography or tourism purposes.
And the Forest Conservation Act says the Centre’s approval is a must for non-forest use of forest land. So The Divisional Forest Officer suggested two external routes to the project site.
But within two days, Haryana’s Chief Wildlife Warden issued an order (shot of the order) allowing transportation through the forest. And the state forest secretary warned the DFO, instructing him in as many words to forget the rules.
Three months on, the result is visible with firelines and culverts crumbling under heavy vehicles, constant traffic and loose soil damaging the habitat stoking the risk of forest fire, free movement of construction workers has put the wildlife at risk. Some of these men have been already booked for poaching. Yet forest officials say there’s no violation.
‘’A few acres are being used. Transportation is no big deal. There is no major violation here. We are in the process of denotifying the sanctuary.
It was pending with the Supreme Court and the SC has cleared the case. Only formalities remain,'’ said PC Rawat, PCCF, Haryana. But the Centre has not yet cleared the denotification plea.
The Supreme Court has only referred it back to the National Board for Wildlife, which meets on September 10 and may well decide against denotification.
Even if the National Board for Wildlife rules otherwise. Nothing justifies the state government decision to open up the sanctuary before it’s actually denotified.
The Vice-Chairman of the Wildlife Trust of India, has meanwhile clarified that the Forest Secretary had violated the Forest Conservation Act and is liable to face criminal charges.
Posted By Staff Reporter: Gurgaon City News
in Gurgaon News
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