State Board of Wildlife approves proposal to declare Bengaluru's Hesaraghatta grassland into conservation reserve

State Board of Wildlife deferred proposals for mining within 10 km radius of Kappatagudda Wildlife Sanctuary.

Bengaluru: The State Board of Wildlife (SBWL) on Monday approved the proposal to declare Hesaraghatta grassland spread over 5000 acres a conservation reserve while deferring proposals to take up mining within 10 km radius of Kappatagudda Wildlife Sanctuary.

In all, the SBWL headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah considered more than 14 proposals, including the key decision to add Chordenahalli and Kaitotlu forests to Bhadra TIger Reserve that will help resolve the boundary issue of Shettihalli sanctuary.

The Greater Hesaraghatta Grassland Reserve proposal involves protecting the ecology of the 1550-acre lake of Hesaraghatta, Kakolu and Byata as well as 3459-acre catchment area.

In 2021, political considerations had led the board to reject the proposal for Greater Hesaraghatta Grassland Reserve, prompting environmentalists to approach the high court.

"The high court had directed the Board to reconsider the proposal. The government is committed to protect the environment and ecology. As a result, the Board has declared the grassland as a reserve," Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre said.

Of the six gram panchayats, four had opposed the proposal for declaring the grassland as a reserve. However, the Opposition was mainly due to misinformation and concern that villagers will be restricted from utilising the grassland.

Mahesh Bhat, who was among the conservationists who worked for the proposal, welcomed the SBWL decision. "We hope this will help prevent disturbance caused by some visitors by activities like wheeling and partying in the grassland. At the same time, the rights of the villagers like grazing cattle in the grassland should not be disturbed," he added.

The board's decision will be placed before the cabinet, whose approval will result in preparation of a scientific management plan to protect the reserve.

Pumped storage threat to Varahi

On the flipside, the board approved the digging of more than 30 borewells in two protected areas of Someshwara and Mookambika wildlife sanctuaries as part of the exploratory work for the proposed 1500 MW Varahi Pumped Storage Project (PSP).

Of the more than 40 borewells to be drilled for the project in Udupi and Shivamogga districts, 31 are in the protected areas, including 29 in Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary and two in Someshwara wildlife sanctuary.

Activist Joseph Hoover noted that the Expert Advisory Committee for River Valley and Hydroelectric Projects has decided to visit sites of the proposed PSP in view of the increasingly fragile ecology of the Western Ghats.

"The state board should have referred to the expert committee decision and deferred the matter till they get an opinion," he said.

The Kappatagudda wildlife sanctuary has a default eco sensitive zone (ESZ) of 10 km from the boundary, making the SBWL clearance mandatory for non-forest activities like mining.

When the mining proposals came up, senior officials informed the board members that the draft ESZ for Kappatagudda has been published and the proposals have to be scrutinised again to assess their position in the final ESZ. The Board decided to defer all the proposals to allow the finalisation of the ESZ.

The board approved the addition of Chordenahalli state forest and Kaithotlu mini forest to the Bhadra Tiger Reserve, paving way for the finalisation of the Shettihalli Wildlife Sanctuary. This will enable the notification of the ESZ for one of the oldest sanctuaries of Karnataka.