To denotify or not? Environment ministry ponders mine lease in Ranthambore National Park's buffer

Opposed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to protect passage of tigers from Ranthambore National Park (RNP), the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) is deliberating if 200 hectares of forest in the park’s buffer zone can be denotified for a mining project. The project in question is ACC Limited’s Lakheri Chamovali limestone mining project in Bundi district in Rajasthan. It proposes to feed raw material to the Lakheri cement plant, the oldest in the country.

At the heart of the issue is the NTCA’s contention that denotifying the forest area will impact dispersal of tigers to neighbouring sanctuaries, affecting genetic diversity and increasing pressure on RNP.  ACC, though, has claimed that the mining lease was “inadvertently” notified as part of the RNP’s buffer and has demanded denotification. The company’s stand has the backing of Rajasthan's wildlife department.

The proposal for denotification was recently taken up by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) during its meetings on January 3 and March 2. Since the project falls in the buffer area of RNP, the NBWL sought comments from the NTCA.

The NTCA informed that the forest is situated along the southern boundary of the park, and since the area currently falls in the buffer of the tiger reserve, mining would be in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Further, based on ACC’s presentations made in NBWL meetings, the NTCA suggested a middle way out. It said that the mine could operate for eight years, as reserves will exhaust during that period, instead of denotifying the forest. This, it argued, will provide long-term protection to established routes that tigers use to move from Ranthambore to neighbouring areas.

These include Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary, National Chambal Sanctuary, Mukundara Tiger Hills Reserve, Ramgarh wildlife sanctuary and Kuno-Palpur sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. In a 2015 report on the Western Indian Tiger Landscape, the World Wildlife Fund has detailed all the tiger dispersal routes and highlighted their importance for genetic diversity. Citing the example of Lakheri cement works, the report said that mining should be stopped in and around RNP to protect tiger corridors. This, it said, would help in increasing genetic diversity among tigers.

ACC, though, did not agree with NTCA’s comments and said that this would create more troubles rather than finding a solution. According to sources present in the January and March meetings, Environment Minister Anil Dave gave a patient hearing to ACC’s representatives. Even as the NTCA opposed denotification, the minister directed the director general of the forests and environment ministry to examine the issue and submit a report on it.

According to sources, the DG, Forests, has supported NTCA’s views and subsequently, environment secretary AK Jha held a meeting with ACC and ministry officials. The issue is now pending with the secretary, top officials from the ministry confirmed.

Responding to queries, an ACC spokesperson said that the mine was “inadvertently” notified in RNP’s buffer in 2012. “The sanctity and continuity of the buffer is not violated. We support the corridor and have agreed to work with the agencies to strengthen it. In fact the Chief Wildlife Warden and others have suggested better alternatives, such as funneling of wildlife through the valley instead of it coming out onto the denuded outer side of the hill where we are. Our lease is the southern edge of the corridor and there is no habitat of wildlife in it as it is flanked by the State Highway running alongside its lower edge. There is no wildlife present in the mining lease area,” the spokesperson said.