Ahmedabad: It will be a good few years before the Asiatic Lions are able to enjoy complete privacy in their abode in the Gir sanctuary in Junagadh.
The 376 Maldhari families currently living in the sanctuary area with their livestock will continue to stay there till the state government receives funds from the Centre to facilitate their relocation.
Recently, a grant of Rs50 crore was approved by Union ministry for environment and forest for Gujarat for the purpose of lion conservation.
This, however, is a fraction of the Rs236 crore sought by the state for several conservation projects.
Principal Chief Conservator of forests Pradip Khanna said plans to be funded by the grant had already been prepared.
The task of relocating the maldhari families will take more than the sanctioned amount, he added.
“We will take up other projects such as eco-development, gene pool project, etc,” Khanna said. “Relocation of Maldharis will not happen for now.”
The presence of Maldharis is believed to have detrimental effect on the lions, driving them out of the sanctuary area. The department estimates that the cost of rehabilitating one Maldhari family would come to at least Rs10 lakh.
“The crucial part is to get all of them to agree to be relocated,” said a former forest official from the region. “And if they agree and are given land outside the sanctuary, then it has to be ensured that they do not leave the land allotted to them and return to the forest, as has happened in the past.”
The recently released CAG report highlights similar irregularities in the relocation of Maldharis.
The report states that, between 1972 and 78, 588 families were shifted out of the Gir protected area.
Each family was given eight acres of cultivable and grazing land, 600 sq meters of residential plot and Rs 6050. A total of 257 families were not shifted.But of the 588 families that were relocated, 87 returned to the forests and reside with authorization in the protected area.
According to the CAG report, the forest department had said that a scheme for the rehabilitation of Maldharis had been approved and would be implemented on availability of funds from the Centre.
But adequate steps to prevent relocated Maldhari families from returning to the protected area were not taken, the CAG report says.
“Consequently, the expenditure that was incurred on their earlier relocation towards farm lands, housing plots and cash, proved to be infructuous,” the report has commented.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Forest dept officials move in AC cars to count lions
No less than 70 air-conditioned cars have been hired by the forest department for the officials during the fourday census which concluded on Tuesday.
Sources in the department said that the forest department was estimating an expenditure of 25 lakh for the census.
Sources said that during census the officials especially the senior officers used these
cars while travelling. Not only that, some officials in the forest department
were also seen travelling in cars with their families. A volunteer also said that the choice of the volunteer was also to be questioned as those selected were not associated with the field.
However, a senior officer said that these cars were hired in the name of the sub-zonal team which were to travel from one beat to another clicking photographs and recording the location of the lions on the GPS. He said that since these teams were to move around quickly they needed cars. However, these teams were given jeeps while the cars were being kept at the services of the officials.
He said that the local villagers should have been given preference than as they were aware of the movement of the animal in their respective areas. A officer refusing to be quoted said that several of the volunteers instead of helping the officials were seen standing and watching lions. Officials said that there was no screening of volunteers. It is worthy recalling that the volunteers even complained of families attending the census.
Officials said that the mismanagement part was more in the revenue area where even friends were taken in the teams. A local journalist from Amreli said that he had visited the census not officially but illegally with few of his friends who were volunteering for the census.
By: Times of india
Sources in the department said that the forest department was estimating an expenditure of 25 lakh for the census.
Sources said that during census the officials especially the senior officers used these
cars while travelling. Not only that, some officials in the forest department
were also seen travelling in cars with their families. A volunteer also said that the choice of the volunteer was also to be questioned as those selected were not associated with the field.
However, a senior officer said that these cars were hired in the name of the sub-zonal team which were to travel from one beat to another clicking photographs and recording the location of the lions on the GPS. He said that since these teams were to move around quickly they needed cars. However, these teams were given jeeps while the cars were being kept at the services of the officials.
He said that the local villagers should have been given preference than as they were aware of the movement of the animal in their respective areas. A officer refusing to be quoted said that several of the volunteers instead of helping the officials were seen standing and watching lions. Officials said that there was no screening of volunteers. It is worthy recalling that the volunteers even complained of families attending the census.
Officials said that the mismanagement part was more in the revenue area where even friends were taken in the teams. A local journalist from Amreli said that he had visited the census not officially but illegally with few of his friends who were volunteering for the census.
By: Times of india
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