BHUBANESWAR: After a wait lasting decades, Similipal has been accorded national park status, with a formal notification issued by the Odisha government on Thursday.
An area of 845.70 sq km spread across 11 ranges of Similipal south and Similipal north divisions was declared as a national park, making it the second protected area to be declared a national park after Bhitarkanika in the state.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who made an announcement to this effect on Thursday, said Similipal is now the 107th national park in the country. It is also the largest national park in Odisha at 845.70 square km, he said.
Hailing it as a landmark step towards conservation and the goal of 'Viksit Bharat and Viksit Odisha', Majhi said, "This long awaited declaration strengthens our ecological legacy, uplifts tribal aspirations and reaffirms Odisha's commitment to sustainable development."
PCCF (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden (CWW) Prem Kumar Jha said the national park status to Similipal is a significant milestone in the conservation history of Odisha. “The long pending proposal, originally initiated in 1980 and realised now, will be a big push for state's forest and wildlife conservation," he said.
As per the notification of the Forest, Environment and Climate Change (FE&CC) department, the 845.70 square km of Similipal National Park is spread over Pithabata north, Pithabata south, Nawana, Jenabil, Upper Barahkamuda, national park, and Bhanjabasa ranges of Similipal south division and Barehipani, Chahala, Nawana North and Talabandha ranges of Similipal north division.
Similipal, the state's biggest tiger reserve, has 55 species of mammals, 361 species of birds, 62 species of reptiles and 21 species of amphibians. It is spread over 2,750 square km, including around 2,306 sq km that forms Similipal wildife sanctuary. The state had notified 1,194.75 sq km of STR as the core critical tiger habitat in 2007.
However, acting on the criteria of the Centre, that an area to be accorded national park status must be completely inviolate and free from human habitation and movement of domestic animals, the forest department notified an area of 845.70 sq km, mostly in Similipal south division, as the national park.
The core of Similipal that consisted of six villages - Jamunagada, Kabatghai, Bakua, Barahkamuda and Bahaghar - posed a bigger challenge for national park notification for decades. Though the government succeeded in shifting Jenabil, Kabatghai Barahakamuda, Bahaghar and Jamunagada villages, around 61 families continued to inhabit Bakua. Keeping this in view, Bakua has been kept out of the national park area of 845 sq km, sources said.
The notification issued by the department came after the statutory 60-day proclamation period issued by the Mayurbhanj district administration was complied with last year.
Deputy director of STR south Samrat Gowda said national park status is a major recognition for Similipal. "Apart from empowering us to strongly enforce laws, it will also help seek more funds for strengthening protection measures in the tiger habitat," he said.
Till now, Bhitarkanika held the status of being the lone national park in the state. Established as a wildlife sanctuary in 1975, the mangrove ecosystem had been designated as a national park in 1998.