The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Forest Department to develop Hosakerehalli tank

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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Forest Department to develop Hosakerehalli tank

Special Correspondent

50 villages in Malnad region to be developed as green areas
Study on carrying capacity of Uttara Kananda district soon

Bangalore: To promote eco-tourism, the Forest Department, in association with the Western Ghats Task Force, has decided to rejuvenate the Hosakerehalli tank near Kengeri on the outskirts of Bangalore at an estimated cost of Rs. 40 lakh.

Speaking to presspersons here, Task Force chairman Ananth Hegde Ashisara said a meeting of the task force was held on Wednesday and took several decisions for protection of environment. A forest committee has been formed to develop the 800-acre Hosakerehalli tank by recovering encroached lands and developing a medicinal park. The Forest Department has commenced a survey to recover the encroached tank-bed, he said.

Study

The Centre for Ecological Studies of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, has been asked to conduct a study on carrying capacity of Uttara Kananda district. Several industrial and Defence projects have threatened the ecological balance in the district, he said.

A meeting of environmentalists and officials of various government departments has been convened at Honnavar in Uttara Kananda district on January 1, 2010, for discussing strategies to be adopted for protection of the coast and bio-diversity in three districts.

The Dandeli West Coast Paper Mills has been causing damage to the environment and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has been asked to study the causes for acid rain in the region, Mr. Ashisara said.

A conference of scientists would be convened in Bangalore in January and village forest committees’ meet would be convened in Mysore, Sringeri and Gulbarga soon. A sum of Rs. 1 crore has been released to the task force to develop 50 villages in the Malnad region as “green areas”.

The “green villages” would be provided with solar energy, bio-fuel and the farmers would be encouraged to take up organic farming, he said.

The task force has opposed, in no uncertain terms, the 400-MW Gundia hydroelectric project planned in the heart of the Western Ghats. He said that the task force, an initiative of the State Government with the objective of conservation of the Western Ghats, had communicated its stand to the Government and stressed on the impact of the project on the environment and ecology of the ghats, especially the irreversible damage to biodiversity, in its report to the Government.

Power projects opposed

The Western Ghats is listed one of the 18 biodiversity hotspots in the world. The task force had also opposed proposed power projects in Hanakon and Tadari in Uttar Kannada district.

“It is mandatory for the Government to abide by the laws framed for the conservation of forests and the environment,” he added.

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