Rajasthan panel clears de-notification of area

JAIPUR: A Rajasthan wildlife board panel has approved the de-notification of a forest area in the Banshi Pahadpur hills of Bharatpur, from where pink sandstone is being sourced for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, as a sanctuary after a survey found that it didn’t possess the flora or fauna essential to qualify as a forest.

A senior forest department official, who is familiar with the development, said the standing committee of the State Board of Wildlife (SBWL), at a recent meeting, recommended de-notifying the forest area of Banshi Pahadpur as a sanctuary.

“There are no forest or animals, and it is difficult to understand why it was made a sanctuary? The government is not just losing revenue because of illegal mining, but unnecessarily, the [forest] department’s image is being tarnished,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

Pink sandstone mined from the hills is being supplied to Ayodhya for the construction of a Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony for the Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5, 2020, seven months after the Supreme Court resolved the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute in Ayodhya and allowed the construction of the temple.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which has been sourcing stones from Banshi Pahadpur, had complained of supply of sandstone getting stalled because of a crackdown on September 6 and 7 by the district administration.