RAJKOT: How long does it take for the wheels of government machinery to move after declaring a forest land as protected? Almost 35 years in the case of the Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary. It was declared as a wildlife sanctuary in February 1986. But the process of marking exact area of the sanctuary has been initiated by the Kutch district collector office now.
On Thursday, additional collector J M Parmar, through a notification, started a survey and settlement process — the first step to earmark the protected area. The notification has given two months to people having residential or commercial interest in the sanctuary area to raise objections.
As per norms, the revenue department carries out the process of marking the area of a sanctuary. It also undertakes the acquisition of land and land right settlement process. For the Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, spread over 7,500 square kilometres, the process has been initiated after almost 35 years.
The additional collector has declared the land survey numbers of Bhuj, Bhachau and Rapar talukas that fall under sanctuary area and also the names of the villages. The statement also invited objections within two months in accordance with the wildlife protection act so as to complete the survey settlement process.
Forest officials said that till the sanctuary area is not properly earmarked by the revenue department, it’s difficult to relocate people living inside the sanctuary or force closure of any commercial or industrial activity within its area. Assistant conservator of forest Kutch (east) H J Thakkar said, “Revenue officer works as a settlement officer. Two officers are appointed for this process in the sanctuary area and we are trying to complete this process as soon as possible using all available resources.”
The famous ‘Flamingo City’ — the nesting ground of flamingos and nearly 250 other species of migratory birds — is situated inside the sanctuary. Also, the area falls under the Central Asian Flyway, a migration route used by birds living across different continents. Apart from birds, the sanctuary has a significant population of wild ass and other animals.
