Kerala requests the Center to exclude inhabited areas from the Periyar buffer zone
Recommendations are made to exclude inhabited areas from the buffer zones (Photo: Shutterstock)
The Kerala government on Saturday said it will once again request the Center to exclude residential areas near the Periyar Tiger Reserve from the buffer zone.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the State Wildlife Board chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, according to a statement from his office.
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According to the CMO statement, it was decided during the meeting to once again request the Center to exclude 502.73 hectares of inhabited areas in Pampa Valley and Angel Valley from the buffer zone around the tiger reserve.
This recommendation will be submitted to the Center along with additional information requested by the Center, the statement said.
The CM convened the emergency meeting, also attended by state forest minister AK Saseendran, to ensure that the issue is discussed at the National Wildlife Board meeting to be held on October 9, the CM said.
The proposal to exclude 8.9725 sq km of inhabited area from Thattekad Bird Sanctuary and include 10.1694 sq km of reserve forest area of Munnar division in the Bird Sanctuary will also be re-recommended for approval to the Standing Committee of the National Wildlife Board, the statement said.
Recommendations are made to exclude inhabited areas from the buffer zones that must be designated around forest areas according to a Supreme Court directive.
The apex court had in June 2022 directed that a buffer zone of one kilometer should be maintained around forests and shrines across the country.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First publication: Oct 5, 2024 | 11:04 pm IST