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MoEF show-cause on encroachments

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI JULY 16. Taking a serious note of encroachments in the newly-developed Bhoramdeo Wildlife Sanctuary in Chhattisgarh, the Ministry of Environment and Forests has issued a show-cause notice to the State Government seeking an explanation on the repeated violation of conservation laws and Supreme Court orders.

The Central-Empowered Committee of the Ministry — constituted on the Supreme Court's directive to hear and speedily dispose of cases relating to environmental issues — has sent show-cause notices to the District Magistrate, the Principal Secretary (Forests) and the Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh, asking them to explain why a source of water was being diverted away from the sanctuary, without the prior permission of the Forest Department as was required under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.

Counsel for the Ministry of Environment and Forests has also recognised the seriousness of the issue and accepted a notice that seeks to make the Ministry a party to the case.

The Bhoramdeo Wildlife Sanctuary was created in Chhattisgarh in 2001 and acted as a buffer zone to the world famous Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh and thus an important corridor for wildlife.

The matter was taken up by the Wildlife Protection Society of India after it received information about the encroachments. The first-hand information and photographs collected by the society revealed that thousands of trees had been felled over the past six months for the construction of a canal inside the sanctuary.

A large area had also been cleared for a dam that would divert the waters of the Sakri river to villages outside the sanctuary. These activities were being carried out by the villagers, reportedly with the backing of the local political establishment, the society alleged in its complaint to the Central-Empowered Committee.

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