12 yrs on, MoEFCC issues draft ESZ notification for PTR

PILIBHIT: Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) has issued a draft notification for the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) around Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 The draft was gazetted on Tuesday and identifies 230 villages within the proposed zone. The development comes nearly 12 years after Pilibhit's forest area was notified as a wildlife sanctuary on Feb 28, 2014, and later declared a tiger reserve on June 9 the same year.

Principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), Uttar Pradesh, Anuradha Vemuri said the ESZ functions as a regulated buffer around protected areas to minimise ecological damage and ensure safe movement of wildlife. She said the notification would help prevent harmful activities near forest boundaries and protect fragile ecosystems.

As per procedure, the draft ESZ proposal is first prepared by a committee headed by the district magistrate of the district concerned and then routed through the state govt and the principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) before being forwarded to the MoEFCC for notification.

The process also follows directions issued by the Supreme Court on Dec 11, 2018, in the TN Godavarman Thirumulpad versus Union of India case, in which the Union govt was asked to declare ESZs within a 10 km radius of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries where notifications were pending.

In compliance, a committee chaired by the Pilibhit district magistrate had proposed in May 2014 an ESZ extending up to 10 km around PTR, though the proposal was revised several times. Divisional forest officer Manish Singh said the matter progressed after forest authorities in Uttarakhand and Nepal agreed on July 8 last year to a zero-km ESZ limit towards their respective boundaries, following which the final draft was sent to the state forest administration in Sept.

According to the draft, the ESZ has been defined as zero km towards the interstate boundary of Uttarakhand and the international boundary with Nepal, 1 km towards Shahjahanpur district and 2 km within Pilibhit district around the reserve.

The MoEFCC has invited objections and suggestions from the public within 60 days of the gazette notification being made available. After final notification, the state govt will have to prepare a zonal master plan within two years in consultation with 11 departments concerned, including environment, forest and wildlife, tourism, agriculture and the UP State Pollution Control Board, to integrate ecological safeguards into development planning.

The draft also directs the state govt to undertake restoration of degraded areas, conserve existing water bodies, manage catchment and watershed areas, regulate groundwater use, ensure soil and moisture conservation and demarcate existing settlements within the ESZ. Development activities in the zone will be regulated in accordance with the prohibited and regulated categories specified in the notification.

In the absence of an ESZ notification so far, more than 50 resorts and other structures were allegedly constructed within 1 km of the core forest area of PTR. The issue was raised before the National Green Tribunal by an Allahabad high court lawyer, following which the tribunal in Jan directed constitution of a high-level committee to examine violations and submit a report within 10 weeks.