English daily published in Bengaluru & Doha
Rs 100 cr to prevent man-animal conflict
NT Correspondent
Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has announced the allocation of an eco-budget of Rs 100 crore to mitigate the disastrous impact on forest due to natural and human interventions.
In his maiden budget on Friday, the Chief Minister mentioned that a Rs 5-crore grant will be provided for the development of conservation reserves under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Moreover, in order to stop elephant menace in Hassan, Chikkamagaluru and Kodagu districts, Rs 100 crore allocation will be made for constructing fences on railway crossings.
Reacting to the announcements made in the budget a former Indian Forest Service officer said, “Conservation reserves have been suffering from shortage of funds. Rs 5 crores is quite a good initiative as conservation in many of these reserves are important for long term survival of Wildlife species and restoration of habitats and corridors. Human wild animals conflict needs much more than Rs 100 crores provided for barricading areas near railway lines in forest areas. In addition to barricades, a number of other steps like habitat restoration, corridor conservation and frequent tracking by staff etc are required to minimize the conflicts.”
Budget also mentioned that the birds and butterfly sanctuary will be established at Belagavi district’s Hidkal dam area for their conservation and to create awareness among the public.
“For the first time in the country, an innovative ‘Blue-Plastic Management Scheme’ will be brought into force with assistance of the World Bank in the next five years at a cost of Rs 840 crore to address the issue of plastics polluting water bodies in the coastal areas,” the budget stated.
News Trail story ‘Green signal for JB Kaval park project?’ (March 4) has proven to be true. The Chief Minister announced that the government will develop a multi-purpose ‘Atal Bihari Vajpayee Park’ on an extent of 350 acres of Government land in Jarakabande area of Yelahanka on the model of Lalbagh-Cubbon park, in the backdrop of increasing demand for green space in the rapidly growing Bengaluru city.
The state government will also go ahead to construct Green Expo at the 105 acres land of defunct NGEF. During the budget session, CM said, “It is essential to create awareness among the public on sustainable lifestyles. ‘Green Expo’, on lines of the Singapore model, will be constructed in the heart of Bengaluru on 105 acres of land belonging to NGEF.
Demonstrations on eco-friendly technology, eco-friendly transport, green infrastructure, green start-up and other demonstrations will be provided to the public at Green Expo.” In the other announcements on environments, a budget claims that a survey will be conducted in the 33,000 lakes coming under various Gram Panchayats limits. In the initial stage around 1,000 lakes will be identifi ed and developed at a cost of Rs 10 lakh per lake and for this Rs 100 crore will be allocated. Desilting of the rivers along the National highways of the State and construction of new lakes will be taken up in coordination with National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
