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| An aerial view of Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture |
Bhubaneswar, Oct. 7: As more and more housing projects come up close to Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary, the sanctuary authorities believe planting trees on its fringe area will create a natural barrier between the concrete jungle and the forests.
With two big multi-storeyed apartment blocks and many housing complexes coming up in Gothapatana, Gangapada, Andharua, Sundarpur, Kantabada and Katini — consisting of 6,000-7,000 apartments — environmentalists see a threat to the nearby sanctuary, as the concrete jungle on the fringes of the forest could create an ecological disturbance and induce a fall in the groundwater level.
“More than 15 housing projects are in the pipeline and more are in the offing. As saturation has already occurred within the city and zones with infrastructure are few and far between within the jurisdiction of the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), the areas in this region are seeing a housing boom. It may become a high-density residential zone,’’ said real estate developer Manoranjan Ray.
Wildlife activist Biswajit Mohanty said there was a Supreme Court directive to declare the area within a 10-km radius of a reserved forest area as an “eco-sensitive zone’’.
In spite of this and a former principal chief wildlife warden submitting a proposal to the state government to make an official declaration, there is no move to do so. “The issue has become more critical as there is construction going on just near the boundary of the reserved forest area. Within a decade, the entire area will become a concrete jungle near the wildlife sanctuary,’’ Mohanty said.
Ecologist Prasad Dash said: “Earlier, the eco-sensitive zone on the city outskirts near Balianta had fallen victim to land mafia and over 50 species of birds were threatened. This change in land use pattern is not only altering the ecology of the area, but also affecting rivers, canals and wetlands. It will also affect soil fertility and is a threat to animal and plant species. The development near Chandaka Sanctuary will have a similarly negative impact on the forests.”
Speaking to The Telegraph on the sidelines of the first day of the state-level Wildlife Week celebration here today, divisional forest officer of Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary Akshaya Patnaik said: “There is a law which prevents construction of houses within a 10-km radius of the sanctuary boundary. However, as it relates to environmental law, the National Board for Wildlife is the competent authority to act in this regard.”
He added that the sanctuary had taken steps to develop a patch of greenery around Chandaka and made it a buffer zone around the core area. “Of the 174-km radius we have completed 135km so far. The creation of the buffer zone around Chandaka will also help provide additional fodder for elephants and restrict their entry into human habitation,’’ Patnaik said.
BDA planning member Prashant Kumar Patnaik said: “After the inclusion of more areas into its fold, the BDA has initiated steps to include eco-sensitive zones like Balianta into the planning fold. However, regarding the development near Chandaka, BDA has no role to play. As the construction activity is on private land and urbanisation pressure is increasing day by day in the city, it is not possible to restrict it.’’
“The restriction of construction in the fringe zone near a sanctuary clearly falls under the mandate of the forest and environment department. Either they can restrict the activity or create a perfect green barrier in between the concrete jungle and the forests so that there is ecological balance between the two,’’ the senior BDA official added.
The Telegraph on May 31 had carried a report on the eco-sensitive zone near Balianta where the ecological balance stands threatened by the activities of the land mafia.