Perceived As A Threat To Elephant Habitats; Task Force Report Pointed To Fraudulent Clearances Being Granted To These Projects; Green Crusaders Welcome HC Directive The Karnataka High Court’s directive to the government to review clearances to various projects in elephant habitats and corridors has come as a major respite to the majestic mammals and environmentalists. For it brings 70 mini-hydro-electric power projects (sanctioned/ under construction/ functional) in and around these habitats under the scanner. The court on Tuesday asked the government to review clearances in a time-bound manner. Wildlife biologist Sanjay Gubbi told TOI that of the 172 mini-hydel projects sanctioned in the Western Ghats, 70 projects pose a threat to elephant habitats and corridors. While 40 are in Hassan district, the rest are in Mandya, Chamarajanagar and Uttara Kannada districts, he added. Gubbi said several projects, especially mini-hydel ones, have been permitted in critical elephant habitats, and some are already operational. If all the mini-hydel projects permitted in Hassan district are implemented, they'll create a permanent disjoint between the southern and northern stretches of the Western Ghats. The court’s order is extremely important to keep this landscape intact, he said. It may be recalled here that the court direction was based on the recommendations made by the courtappointed Karnataka Elephant Task Force (KETF). Raman Sukumar, KETF chairman and professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, welcomed the directive. “I’m yet to go through the court order in detail. But going by media reports, it’s clear that most of the task force recommendations have been considered,” he said. The KETF report had said seemingly fraudulent clearances have been granted to existing mini-hydel projects even though they’re located in designated reserve forest areas. In fact, the report recommended cancellation of all forest clearances given improperly to mini-hydel projects. Officials who have prima facie misrepresented facts about the presence of elephants and other wildlife while recommending such projects must be prosecuted, the report added. WHAT NEXT Principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) GS Prabhu, also the chief wildlife warden, said modalities will be discussed once they get a copy of the court verdict. ‘‘One of the high court directives says the government cannot renew or grant clearance for diversion of forest land falling within the elephant habitat or corridor. Project proposals have to come before me to assess the potential impact. We will review all projects under the Mysore Elephant Reserve spanning Bangalore Urban and Rural, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Hassan and Dakshina Kannada districts,‘‘ he added. Expertspeak As per the Karnataka High Court order, projects permitted in elephant habitats with false documentation should be reviewed and no new projects be permitted in these areas. When elephants lose their natural habitats or movement corridors, they're forced to move into human habitations and this leads to conflict, serious injuries, loss of life, property and even livelihood. Sanjay Gubbi | WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST Elephant management, including conservation and conflict mitigation, needs to be handled differently in different areas. The Karnataka Elephant Task Force has also proposed classifying of all areas where elephants are present in three zones — Elephant conservation zone, elephant-human coexistence zone and elephant-removal zone. Raman Sukumar | KETF CHAIRMAN