MYSORE: The State Government has submitted a proposal to the Union Government seeking declaration of Eco Sensitive Zones (ESZs) around a 10-km radius of Bandipur and Nagarahole and other protected areas in the State.

This followed a direction by the Supreme Court in February 2003 on the need for eco-sensitive zones around protected areas to minimise the environmental impact due to human intervention.

If the proposal is approved and notified, it will attract restrictions on any developmental activity that is considered detrimental to environment and wildlife habitat in the region.

Resorts

It will also help regulate and curb the proliferation of private resorts around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, besides reducing the scope for expansion of existing facilities.

Sources said that if the proposal was approved, it would be declared and implemented under the Environmental Protection Act and would serve as legal backing for the promotion of conservation activity.

Bandipur is among the first Project Tiger Parks in the country and is spread over 860 sq. km.

It is situated close to Madhumalai, Wynad and Nagarahole and is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, which is the first "Biosphere Reserve" of India. It is home to a variety of animals, including elephants, tigers, leopards, gaur, spotted deer and over 300 species of birds, and has the highest density of elephant population in Asia. Wildlife biologists have identified elephant migratory paths that cut across the boundaries of the national parks, where an increase in anthropogenic (effects, processes, objects or materials that are derived from human activity) pressure, including tourism-related activity, has put a question mark on the future of the elephants.

The establishment of ESZs may help curb such activity and provide reprieve to the animal world, the sources said.

Industrial activity

The sources said all industrial activity including tourism in ESZs would be classified either as "Red", "Orange" or "Green", according to the norms of the Pollution Control Board.

Mining, manufacturing and hazardous industries fall under the "Red" category and are strictly banned, while those under the "Orange" head require the clearance of the State Pollution Control Board and, subsequently, the Union Government. Industries under the "Green" category are allowed by the State Government, without referring to the Union Government.

`Green' category

While all tourism-related activity falls under the "Green" category, the sources said that too much of such activity has backfired and there was, therefore, a need for regulation.

However, in the case of Bandipur, which is among the most popular national parks in the country and attracts tourists in large numbers, the State Government has gone a step further and called for declaration of a radius of 2 km around it as a "Core Area", in which where there would be strict curbs on any activity, the sources added.

Senior officials said that the carrying capacities of the Bandipur and Nagarahole national parks had reached their limits.

They had already imposed a curb on the number of vehicles that would be allowed inside, the officials added.

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