‘Centre must protect elephant corridors’

Environmentalists say it will help in tiger conservation too, protect areas from mining

MUMBAI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT)’S direction that all elephant corridors in the country be declared ecologically sensitive zones (ESZ) is a landmark step that will help elephant conservation efforts, say environmentalists. The order is significant for Maharashtra where activists have been campaigning to stop a tiger and elephant corridor in the Dodamarg-sawantwadi belt being opened up for mining.

Guwahati-resident Pradip Kumar Bhuyan had submitted an application in April 2018, raising the issue of the increasing number of elephant deaths in Assam due to human activity-related incidents. Advocate Sanjay Upadhyay, who represented Bhuyan, said, “In a first, a tribunal asked the Centre to go ahead and ensure complete protection for this species. These areas, which had been ignored so far, get huge teeth in terms of protection.”

In Maharashtra, environmentalists believe the NGT’S order will strengthen the case for a particular section of the Western Ghats being declared an ecologically sensitive area in order to protect it from mining activities. “This order will help the protection of the Western Ghats immensely in the Maharashtra section where elephants move from Karnataka and Goa within this Sawantwadi-dodamarg belt,” said Stalin D, director of the non-governmental organisation, Vanashakti. This wildlife corridor is home to a variety of species and connects the Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur to Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka. The state forest department confirmed the area has 22 to 25 tigers and a family of four elephants.

“Considering the rising incidents of elephant mortality, especially from these corridors where there is conflict underway between encroachers, legal settlements, rail networks, agricul- turalists etc., this order was much needed and is a welcome step for elephant conservation in India,” said Tito Joseph, programme coordinator of Wildlife Protection Society of India. Elephants are protected under schedule 1 under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.