Forest dept makes some way for jumbos

BANGALORE: The jumbos will finally heave a sigh of relief! After years of man-elephant conflicts, the Karnataka forest department has begun acquiring forest land crucial for elephant corridors.

The Karnataka forest department has proposed to acquire a huge chunk of land near the Bannerghatta National Park which serves as a corridor, but has been badly encroached upon by human habitation and infrastructure.

Principal chief conservator of forests B K Singh said the Rs 34-crore Rationalization of Elephant Corridors and Consolidation of Boundaries Project involves relocating habitations. However, whether or not the Centre funds the project remains to be seen.

The project has several components. Apart from purchase of land from private parties, Rs 11.9 crore will be spent on buying agricultural land and around Rs 10.26 crore for building houses.

At least four corridors need to be acquired to ease their movement -- one near Bannerghatta National Park, two near Biligiriranga Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary linking the Cauvery wildlife sanctuary and one near Bandipur Tiger Sanctuary.

Recently, the corridor that connects Kollegal forest division to Biligiri Rangaswamy temple, was purchased, and transferred to the Karnataka government by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). For the 25.5 acre Kollegal (Edayarhalli- Doddasampige) corridor, land under private ownership was purchased by the WTI and its partner, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). The corridor connects Kollegal forest division and Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary. It's the first in Asia to be privately purchased and made part of a protected area. On similar lines, the state forest department plans to purchase land for these corridors.

"The Centre has some queries about the Bannerghatta land acquisition proposal and we'll revert on them. I hope the proposal is cleared. One corridor has been acquired by WTI and we have to gradually acquire the rest," B K Singh told TOI.

Recently, after 12 deaths were reported in about three months due to man-elephant conflict, the forest department upgraded the projects to cover borders with solar fencing and to equip the anti-depredation camps better. But setting up the corridors is key to reducing such conflicts, according to experts.

"We suggested buying of critical parts of land. The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority funds should be used for strategic land acquisition. We need proactive solutions to minimize conflicts, apart from immediate response measures," said managing trustee, Wildlife First, Praveen Bhargav. He added that conflicts have intensified because there's no land use policy, and states with a large elephant population like Orissa, Assam and Karnataka have been badly affected.

CORRIDORS TO BE ACQUIRED

Karadikal- Mahdeshwar corridor near Bannerghatta National Park -- 1km long, 300-00 m wide

Talli corridor in Bangalore Rural and Tamil Nadu - 2km long, 1km wide

Yediyarhalli-Doddasampige corridor - Acquired by WTI

Kanyanpura-Moyar near Bandipura