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Himachal Pradesh allows selective killing of nilgai

SHIMLA: The Himachal Government has tabled in the State Vidhan Sabha a notification permitting selective killing of blue bulls ( nilgai) and its inclusion in the list of crop-damaging species.

The Government had brought the notification this past week after farmers under the banner of Himachal Kisan Sabha had organised a huge rally in Una district demanding declaration of blue bulls as vermin.

The blue bulls would now be added to the list that includes wild boars, porcupine, sambhar, cheetal, hare, jackal, monkey, black deer and parrots.

Forest Minister J. P. Nadda told the Assembly on Friday that the Government had allowed selective killing of the animal in Nurpur, Una, Bilaspur, Nalagarh and Ponta Sahib forest ranges. He said only the affected people having a proper permit issued by the area Divisional Forest Officer and Range Officers have been authorised to kill the blue bull. The Forest Department would not kill the animal but only dispose it of , Mr. Nadda added.

Answering another question, the Forest Minister said that as per Supreme Court orders, after the rationalisation process, there would be 24 wildlife sanctuaries, five national parks and three conservation reserves covering a total area of 8409.72 square km.

At present the State has 33 sanctuaries and two national parks. After redrawing the boundaries, the sanctuaries would be reduced to 32 but the number of national parks would go up to four.

The total protected area would increase to 15.44 per cent from the existing 12 per cent after rationalisation, he said.

Mr. Nadda said that as many as 767 villages having a population of about one lakh would be out of the protected area.

This rationalisation proposal of the State government was approved by the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife on September 16, 2009, he added.

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