BENGALURU: Members of the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) visited Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) on Friday to assess the ecological impact of reduction of its eco-sensitive zone (ESZ), amid mounting concerns over mining and real-estate pressure on Bengaluru’s vital green buffer.
The visit follows a citizens’ petition challenging the Karnataka government’s 2020 decision to shrink the ESZ around BNP from 268.9sqkm to 168.8sqkm, and reduce its width from 4km to just 1km. The petitioners argue that the move undermines the very purpose of an ESZ, which is meant to shield protected areas from unregulated development.
CEC member Chandra Prakash Goyal inspected parts of the park and held discussions with senior state officials, to evaluate the ecological consequences of the reduction. Activists point out that the Union environment ministry’s 2016 draft notification had proposed the larger ESZ in consultation with the state, but the final notification issued in March 2020 excluded several ecologically sensitive areas, including elephant corridors.