Biodiversity board puts its foot down, says won't let Navy use the place for target practising.
After the Karnataka High Court set aside the wish of the Indian Navy to use biodiversity hotspot Nethrani Island 19 km off the Bhatkal coast for target practice earlier this year, the Navy has once again requested the State Biodiversity Board to allow it an area of 16 sq m of rocky surface on the island for target practice.
However, it appears that the board is not in a mood to accede. It has already declared the island a biodiversity hotspot. The Indian Navy had a free run for more than 15 years in using Nethrani Island for target practice, which was opposed by local environmentalists as the landmass is the last archipelago island of the Western Ghats.
Following a hard hitting article in dna in 2011 and a number of follow-up news items, environmentalist and legal activist BR Deepak and others had questioned the action of the Navy. Even former additional director-general of Police KSN Chikkerur had written a series of letters to the Naval Western Command asking the Navy to stop bombarding the biodiversity hotspot. Finally, judges of the high court Vikramajit Sen and Nagarthna had issued orders restraining the Navy from using the island for target practice.
A special mission to Nethrani by Chikkerur along with biodiversity experts and those from Uttara Kannada district science centre found out empty shells and unexploded shells on the island. This year being observed by the United Nations as the Year of Water Cooperation, the Indian Navy has removed all shells from the waters around Nethrani Island and promised to restore the pristine nature of the island.
Board member secretary RK Singh (also additional principal chief conservator of forests) expressed satisfaction over the Navy’s concern in repairing the damage done to Nethrani Island for last so many years. But the request for allotting 16 sq m of rocky surface of the island for target practice was turned down by the board chief.
Professor of marine biology of Karnatak University VN Nayak, who took the team including RK Singh to Nethrani, recently observed that after the high court restrained the Navy, rare corals around the island have started growing and expanding.
“Though there is no documentation of growth and coral diversity of Nethrani Island prior to the high court order, I have observed that many types of corals have started growing and expanding in the area in the last one year since the bombardment ceased,” Nayak pointed out.
Nethrani Island is situated about 12 nautical miles (19 km) from Bhatkal and located under the administrative jurisdiction of Uttara Kannada district. Many foreigners and Indian divers use the spot for diving and snorkelling, and there are at least three diving groups from Bangalore, Hyderabad and Goa that use it for diving expeditions.
“So far, we have had no report of ecological vandalism by any diving group, but we need to have guidelines that will allow us to monitor diving activity and perhaps impose fees of some sort,” said a board official.
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