01 September,2015 07:38 AM IST | | Ranjeet Jadhav
Before giving its final approval, environment ministry wants park officials to do compensatory afforestation on two-hectare degraded forestland in Malad and maintain it for at least seven years
After receiving flak from activists and common man alike, for authorising a slew of developmental projects passing through forests and eco-sensitive locations, it looks like the Ministry of Enviro-nment and Forests (MoEF) has decided to tread with extreme caution before passing new projects.
Krishnagiri garden is located near the SGNP's main gate and is a huge hit among morning and evening walkers
It has been learnt that even though the ministry has issued in-principle approval for converting Krishnagiri garden inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) into a parking area, the final approval comes with a rider. In a letter sent to the Principal Secretary Revenue and Forest Department on July 10, the MoEF has asked the authorities to plant trees on a two-hectare degraded forested patch at Malad and upkeep it for at least seven years. Once these conditions are met, only then the final approval to convert the garden (0.99-hectare) into a parking lot would be issued.
It was the park authorities who recommended the Malad plot. The letter also points at the deterioration of the forest cover in the recent years, especially due to the mushrooming encroachment along the park's periphery.
More than three years ago, the then Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) Sunil Limaye had initiated an anti-encroachment drive to rid the park of squatters. However, naturalists claimed, the intensity of the drive fizzled out after Vikas Gupta took over as the CCF of SGNP following Limaye's transfer.
Official speak
"We have received an in-principle approval from the MoEF and we have already identified a location where the compensatory afforestation will be done.
Post-monsoon, pits will be dug for planting trees and care will be taken so that they grow properly," said Vikas Gupta, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF), SGNP. When asked when would the actual project start, Gupta said the parking area would be operational in the next five months.
It should be noted that the MTDC would be providing battery-operated buses for ferrying visitors inside the park, and both the parties will share the revenue. The eco-friendly buses will ferry visitors to tiger safari and Kanheri caves, and drop visitors midway if asked for.
