‘Onus of protecting wetlands is on Centre’

Make public details of money spent on Kolleru: eco activist

A file photo of spot-billed pelicans at the Atapaka Wildlife Sanctuary in Kolleru Lake.

Wetland conservation crusader T. Pathanjali Sastry said on Saturday it was the responsibility of the Central government to protect the wetlands, particularly the 26 protected under the Ramsar Convention.

Mr. Sastry, who filed a public interest litigation (PIL) against the proposed reduction in the size of the Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary in the Supreme Court, said the apex court had very clearly said it was the responsibility of the Central government and not the State governments to protect the Ramsar sites.

Mr. Sastry said the apex court had clarified that it was the Central government that was a signatory to the Ramsar agreement and not the State governments.

He said the court had asked the Central government to identify and make an inventory of the 2,01,503 wetlands in the country with the assistance of the State governments, and also secure details from them on how they had spent the money given to them for protecting the Ramsar sites.

“I demand that the Andhra Pradesh government make public details of the money spent for the protection of the Kolleru Lake.

The court was very unhappy with the Centre when it said the State governments were not furnishing the details. Since the Centre signed the agreement, it should take the responsibility,” Mr. Sastry said.

Giving in to the demands of the aquaculture sector, the State government proposed reduction of the sanctuary from contour +5 to contour +3.

The TDP, which is in power, and the erstwhile Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy government had passed unanimous resolutions in the Legislative Assemblies. The same is pending with the National Wildlife Board.

The Kolleru Lake is one of the biggest freshwater lakes in the country. The lake is protected to the +10 contour, which encloses 90,100 hectares (901 square km), under the Ramsar Convention.

To avoid public outcry, the Central government notified the core of the lake, area within contour +5 (308), as a wildlife sanctuary.

The governments want to reduce the size of the sanctuary to the area within contour + 3, that is 135 sq km.