Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Feb 6: Being insensitive towards safety of endangered and threatened animal species, the State Forest and Wild Life Department officials have habilitated at least three dozen families of nomads in Surinsar-Mansar and Jasrota (Kathua) Wild Life Sanctuaries, in sheer violations of Wild Life Act and Supreme Court rulings.
Sources in State Forest department said that this illegal and unlawful practice has been encouraged by some Forest and Wild Life Department officials to secure better posting, succumbing to political pressure in last five- six years. This is not the only case in Ramnagar / Manda Wild Life Sanctuary, in Surinsar-Mansar, Jasrota in Kathua Division and Nandni Wild Life Sanctuary of Jammu Forest Division, the condition is much worst. The life of highly endangered species Markhoor in Heerpur and Limber (Lachhipura) Wild Life Sanctuaries and Hangul in Dachigam National Park in Kashmir Valley has also been highly threatened with the habilitation of nomad families in the protected areas and also in Eco-sensitive zones during summers.
The sources disclosed that during last year also some social activists and village heads from Surinsar and Mansar areas had raised the issue of illegal habilitation of nomads in the Sanctuary area but the Wild Life and Forest officials concerned played down the issue and managed at local level. The villagers alleged that more than 50 nomad families were temporarily residing in this Wild Life Sanctuary but as per inputs received from some field Forest officials about two dozen Bakerwal habilitations were still there in Surinsar-Mansar Wild Life Sanctuary area. The reports also revealed that about a dozen (12) such nomadic habilitations were existing in Jasrota Wild Life Sanctuary of Kathua Forest Division.
The Wild Life Act strictly prohibits any type of habilitation, grazing, felling of trees and even any sort of construction inside the protected areas like National Parks and Wild Life Sanctuaries but this all is going on under the nose of Wild Life Department officers, who are least bothered even about the Apex Court or the National Wild Life Board guidelines.
The killing of endangered animals including spotted deer, Cheetal or Sambhar is a cognizable and non-bailable offence as per the Act. Sambhar deer is vulnerably threatened under IUCN Red list while Cheetal is protected under Scheduled-III of Indian Wild Life Act 1972. If the State Government wants to habilitate nomads in violations of the Act, it is better for it to get de-notified the protected areas including all Sanctuaries and National Parks and open them for grazing and habilitation of nomads by framing a new policy and stop seeking funds from the Union Government for development of National Parks, Sanctuaries and new Zoos being created in the State, a senior retired Forest officer said.
Meanwhile, Chief Wild Life Warden, J&K, Deepak Khanna claimed that after the matter regarding habilitation of nomad families in Ramnagar Wild Life Sanctuary area, near Jammu and the killing of a spotted deer by some animals, near fencing came to his notice, he ordered an inquiry into the matter. He said Regional Wild Life Warden Jammu Roshan Jaggi is heading the inquiry while Wild Life Warden Headquarters Tahir Shawl and WLW I/C Zoo, Salim-ul-Haq are committee members. They have been asked to submit report within three days.
When asked about any action taken against field staff in this connection, Mr Khanna said, “Let the inquiry report be completed. I would examine and then take an appropriate action. Instead of three days, the committee members have requested for two more days and I hope the report will reach him by next couple of days,” Mr Khanna said.
Regional Wild Life Warden Roshan Jaggi, however said that allotment of sites to the nomads falls in the jurisdiction of Forest department. He said 32 sq km area of Ramnagar Wild Life Sanctuary at Manda hills has been notified as protected zone but practically hardly 12 sq km area is with Wild Life Department so far and rest is still with Forest department. They have rehabilitated these families in those areas lying with them. He also maintained that in sanctuaries some area is kept porous or open for the movement of animals but it is not the case in Manda Wild Life Park. He claimed that nomads are not habilitated in sanctuaries and if any such case comes to notice, the WL department takes immediate action in this regard.
The sources, however, said that even after four days of the incident of killing of spotted deer by the dogs of the nomads just close the fencing of Wild Life Park Manda, near High Court, two nomad families were still living inside the Sanctuary area. Mr Jaggi and some officers had also visited the Sanctuary area on Monday to take on the spot assessment and found some habilitations inside the sanctuary. He spent over two hours along with the officials there and also interacted with some nomads there.
Chief Conservator of Forests, Jammu, Asif Mehmood Khan when asked how Forest Grazing Committees habilitated nomads in Wild Life Sanctuaries like Ramnagar /Manda, Mansar-Surinsar, Jasrota or even in Nandni Wild Life Sanctuary, he said Forest Grazing Committees have been framed for each district. Conservator of Forests is the chairman, while a representative from DC office, DFO concerned and two or three prominent community members of the area are the members. They identify the areas for the habilitation in Forest compartments and the committees have never given permission for settlement of `Dera’ of nomads or grazing in the protected areas. He denied having given any such permission in any Wild Life sanctuary in Jammu, Samba or Kathua Forest Divisions.
He said similar Grazing Committees have been framed for Reasi and Udhampur districts as well. For Jammu Committee Ex-MLC Nizamuddin Khatana and Haji Mohd Rafiq are also members from the community. A Wild Life official concerned also attends the meeting which is annual affair.
DFO Jammu, Dr V S Senthil Kumar, however, said that nomads possess the grazing rights over forests and they are habilitated during the onset of winters in lower Shivaliks of Jammu region as per old tradition. Some protected areas came up hardly decade back. They are accommodated in various Forest compartments as per carrying capacity of the area and suitable conditions. Reports from Range officers and Block Forest officers are sought in this regard and then after discussing the issue with Govt appointed community members, they are habilitated. An annual fee of Rs 500 per month is also charged from each family/ Dera. But in no case they are habilitated in Sanctuary areas. Even they are not given grazing rights in such areas because department never charges such fee from them. He said the Grazing Committees were framed vide Govt order No. 2/8 – FST of 2011 dated 28-04-2011 in supersession of all previous Govt orders for Jammu, Kathua, Udhampur, Reasi and Rajouri districts. But since 2004-5, no new site was identified for habilitation of these families. They are continuing at the old sites.
Responding to a question, the DFO said, nearly 98 sq km area of Surinsar- Mansar Wild Life Sanctuary was notified over a decade back and it has been completely handed over to the Wild Life department. Now, it is their responsibility to fence and protect that area. There is no role of Forest department after that development, he added.
A Wild Life department officials from Jasrota Wild Life Sanctuary when contacted said that the total area of the sanctuary was around 11 sq km but he denied any habilitation of nomads inside the sanctuary while the villagers of the area and a Sarpanch dismissed WL officials’ claim and said that this practice was going on for the last several years now. Interestingly, officials from the Wild Life Department and Territorial Forest were passing buck on each other, absolving themselves of the responsibility.
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