MTR needs a plan for eco conservation

mudumalai tiger reserve

It is located in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, present at the tri-juncture of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
It plays an unique role by forming part of the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve, the first Biosphere Reserve in India, declared during 1986.
A variety of habitat ranging from tropical evergreen forest, moist deciduous forest, moist teak forest, dry teak forest, secondary grasslands and swamps are found here.
It has a common boundary with Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) on the West and Bandipur Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) on the North,
It is known for its flagship species like Tiger, Elephant etc.

The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the Tamil Nadu government notification declaring the Singur plateau region of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve as Elephant Corridor.
The court rejected the plea of resort owners against the notification.
The elephant corridor declared now is a part of the eco-sensitive zone of MTR.
The SC has also ordered a 3 member committee to hear claims of land and resort owners.
But environmentalists have been consistently asking the state government to prepare a draft Zonal Master Plan (ZMP) which has not been done since 2019 when the central government declared some of MTR’s surrounding as eco-sensitive zones.
Generally ZMPs are roadmaps to regulate the eco-sensitive zones. Hence environmentalists are asking to prepare a draft ZMP before the SC’s 3 member committee begins its work.

Land falling within 10 kms of the boundaries of the National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries are called Eco-Fragile Zones or Eco-sensitive Zones.
They are declared under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
The purpose of declaring Eco-sensitive Zones around National parks and Sanctuaries is to create some kind of ”Shock Absorber” for the Protected Areas. They would also act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection.
As has been decided by the National Board for Wildlife, the activities in the eco-sensitive zones would be of a regulatory nature rather than prohibitive nature, unless and otherwise so required.

The ZMP is prepared with inputs from departments like the pollution control board, PWD, tourism and local bodies besides the forest department, would be a ready reckoner of types of forests, man-made structures, water bodies, agricultural land and settlements if any, and provide a road map for conservation.

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