BIJNOR: As officials from UP and Uttarakhand prepare to work out the details on declaring an eco-sensitive zone along the Corbett and Amangarh Tiger Reserves, residents of some 20 villages finally hope to see their long-standing demand fulfilled.
According to law, no commercial activity can take place within a 10-km radius of a wildlife reserve. As a result, a 30-km stretch in UP bordering the Corbett tiger reserve (CTR) and a 15-km stretch along Amangarh tiger reserve (ATR), where these 20 villages are located, is bereft of all commercial and industrial activity. Unemployment is widespread and has spawned a host of illegal activities like felling forest trees for timber and distilling illicit liquor at these villages.
These include Kehariwala, Badigarh,Jamunwala, Murliwala, Meerapur, Kalluwala, Bhagota, Harelvi, Matlabpur, Kuwankhera, Kadrabad, Rasoolabad, Jawednagar Shahjadpur and Chakpheri.
Explaining why the declaration of an eco-sensitive zone will prove to be a boon for the local people, retired divisional forest officer (DFO) Saleel Kumar Shukla said, “During my tenure seven years ago, a proposal was sent for declaring an eco-sensitive zone within 2-3 km radius of the forest border, but no action was taken at the state level. In 2018, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had also written to various state governments to declare eco-sensitive zones around tiger reserves.”
The eco-sensitive area will open up the area for commercial activity and new avenues of employment, say local villagers who have been pressing for it for years.
M Semmaran, Bijnor DFO, said, “A joint meeting of Corbett authorities and Uttarakhand and UP forest departments has been called to address the issue. We are to prepare a proposal for an eco-sensitive zone along ATR which is a buffer zone of CTR. Corbett authorities have to create their eco-sensitive zone in a 30-km stretch along the forest border. Though Corbett is in Uttarakhand, its eco-sensitive zone will be in UP. Therefore, the matter pertains to both states.”
Rajeev Kumar of Harevali village said it is not just the lack of industries in the area that affects them but the restrictions also pose a hurdle in agricultural work. Three seasonal rivers -- Dhara, Pili and Fik -- that pass through Amangarh deposit their debris on agricultural fields, he said, “We are unable to desilt the land after monsoon as use of machines is not allowed for clearing the land strewn with gravel, stones and sand left behind by the receding flood waters. The price of our land is very low here because of unnecessary restrictions imposed by forest authorities."
Besides, the yield is low due to poor fertility, said Mohit from Murliwala village. The problem can be resolved if the eco-sensitive zone is declared, he added.
