KOTTAYAM: The uncertainties surrounding the proposed boundary alteration of the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) and the Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary, aimed at excluding human settlements, appear to have become increasingly complex following concerns over freehold land.
In April, the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) delegated responsibility for the matter to the state government. However, a definitive decision remains elusive, leaving thousands of people in Angel Valley and Pampavalley wards of Erumely panchayat in Kottayam district, as well as Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary in Ernakulam district, in a precarious situation.
Following the state wildlife board’s recommendation to redraw the boundaries of PTR and Thattekkad, the NBWL standing committee had constituted an inspection team led by its member R Sukumar to study the proposal.
After conducting site visits in December at Thattekad and Pampavalley in PTR, the committee recommended, “The state government shall formulate and implement appropriate guidelines and action plan, in synchronisation with the zonal master plan mandatory for ecologically sensitive zones (ESZ), to promote sustainable development practices to be adopted in Thattekad and Pampavalley settlement areas.”
Additionally, the state is required to transfer 502 hectares of forest from the Goodrical range in Pathanamthitta to PTR to offset the loss arising from the exclusion of the Pampavalley settlement area. Likewise, 1,016.94 hectares from the Neriamangalam range in Munnar forest division needs to be transferred to compensate for the exclusion of 897.25 hectares in Thettakkad. However, the government is yet to provide details of these land transfers.
Accepting the recommendation of the inspection team, the national wildlife board has deferred the proposal until the state government formulates appropriate guidelines and an action plan for the adoption of sustainable development practices in the Thattekad and Pampavalley settlement areas, besides furnishing details of additional area to be included in the tiger reserve.
The board argues that, in the absence of guidelines, there may be encroachments in future. However, residents in these two regions are raising significant concerns regarding the guidelines, which they fear will impose forest rules on their land.
“We are apprehensive about the recommendations, particularly the action plan that the forest department is expected to develop. Although we will be excluded from the forest land technically, restrictions of ESZs (eco-sensitive zones) will be applicable to our land. What we need is the freedom to exercise our rights over our land,” said Fr Mathew Nirappel, the vicar of St Thomas Syro-Malabar Church, Kanamala.
According to Sijumon Francis, general secretary of the Farmers’ Awareness Revival Movement (FARM), spearheading the protests in Thattekkad, if there is no sincere intervention from the state government, the re-demarcation of the boundaries of Thattekkad and Pampavalley will be stuck in red tape.
“As per the current notification for buffer zones of the protected areas, these excluded areas will also come under the buffer zones. To resolve such issues, the government must issue a separate notification to establish a zero buffer zone in populated areas,” Sijumon said.
Pampavalley settlement area
Total area of Periyar Tiger Reserve: 92,500 hectares (925 sq km)
Area proposed to be excluded from Pampavalley settlement area: 502.723 hectares
Total number of families in the area: 1,150
Important and endangered species in the area: Gaur, sambar deer, leopard, sloth bear, wild dog, langur and lion-tailed macaque
Thattekad Bird Sanctuary
Total protected area: 2,516 hectares (25.16 sq km)
Area proposed to be excluded from the sanctuary: 897.25 hectares
Total number of families in the area: 1,300
Important and endangered species in the area: Slender loris, tiger, leopard, mouse deer, Indian pangolin, sloth bear, bonnet macaque, etc.