PANAJI
While on one side it is battling an uphill task of declaring and notifying a Tiger Reserve, Goa -- having declared its first wildlife sanctuary, Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary, way back in 1969 -- is yet to demarcate its protected boundaries even five decades later.
The fate of protected areas of Mollem National Park, Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary is no different as they too don’t have demarcated boundaries till date.
These wildlife sanctuaries and national park -- declared protected areas just based on preliminary notification, with final notification yet to see light of the day -- have got close to 2,000 claims of dwellers to be settled under the Wildlife Protection Act, a mandatory clause to be adhere to before going ahead with the demarcation of the protected boundaries.
Declared in 1969, the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary a 133 sq km area has a human population of around 4,500, while the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary has another 1200-odd people living within the protected areas. Netravali, the State’s largest sanctuary having a total area of 211 sq kms, was declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1978 through a draft notification.
The State’s second biggest wildlife sanctuary -- Mhadei, spread across 208 sq km and declared as a protected area in 1999 -- has around 8,500 people residing within the sanctuary housing close to 25 villages.
“However, the majority of the claims are being processed under the Forest Right Act. There are hardly 2000 to 2500 claims to be settled under the Wildlife Protection Act. Along with Mhadei, for other sanctuaries also, we have asked the Settlement Officer to settle the claims latest by July 2024,” a senior Forest Department official said.
Officials explained that pending settlement of claims, the Department cannot demarcate the boundaries of these protected areas. “We have brought this also to the notice of the High Court. Also, this is the reason why the final notification on these protected areas is not yet issued so far,” the official said adding as per Rule, the settlement of rights and claims of forest dwellers has to be done within two years from the declaration of a sanctuary or a national park.
The official said that the Settlement Officers are working on the claims but it is not an easy task, as it requires a lot of documentation and field study. “Majority of the dwellers do not have valid documents to prove their ownership though they have been residing there for ages. Hence, the settlement process cannot be completed in these cases,” official said.
The Bombay High Court at Goa, during its recent judgment on Tiger Reserve, slammed the Forest department for failing to determine and settle the rights and claims of various dwellers.
“The Section 18 (1) notification for Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary was issued in 1967; for Mhadei and Netravali Wildlife Sanctuaries in 1999. However, to date, ie, for 56 and 24 years respectively, the State government has not bothered to settle the rights and claims of forest dwellers,” the Court had observed.
