Wildlife board headed by CM Fadnavis to consider research proposal by Uddhav's son Tejas Thackeray

The Shiv Sena and the BJP may be at each other's throats politically, but a board under Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will consider a proposal by Uddhav Thackeray's son Tejas to collect live freshwater crabs from the Sahyadris for research.  

"Shri Tejas Thackeray has requested permission to carry out collection of live crabs (Genus-Gratiana, Gubernatoriana, Ingletelphusa and Barytelphusa) for research purpose from Chandoli National Park of Sahyadri landscape. The main object of collection of live samples of crabs is the scientific study/research of the animal kingdom upto specialize study (sic)," said the agenda of the meeting of the Maharashtra State Board for Wildlife. 

The board, which is headed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, will meet on January 31. 

Shiv Sena president' son Tejas, whose love for animals and wildlife is known, had also discovered three new species of freshwater crabs endemic to the Western Ghats, one of which was named after his family. 

The species were named Ghatiana atropurpurea (Amboli), Ghatiana splendida (Chakul) and Gubernatoriana thackerayi (Raghuveer Ghat).

Under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the chief wildlife warden’s consent is necessary for collecting samples of wildlife species and vegetation from protected areas like sanctuaries.

The forest department has recommended permission, subject to conditions laid down by the Chief Wildlife Warden. The recommendations of the state and national wildlife boards are necessary for the collection of wildlife samples.

However, environmentalist Kishor Rithe, a member of the state board, noted that while any research was welcome, no blanket permission should be granted. “The proposal should mention details about the number of live samples to be collected,” Rithe urged, adding that he had raised similar concerns in the meeting held in 2016.

The board will also consider a proposal seeking permission for survey and geotechnical investigation and environmental baseline monitoring for environment impact assessment works by the MSRDC within the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivali for the proposed highway tunnel that joins Tikujiniwadi in Thane to the Western Express Highway at Borivali. This will be a twin-tube, three-lane tunnel.

The proposal involves drilling of boreholes for Survey and Geotechnical investigation in the National Park area and of 9 boreholes proposed, one bore will be in the recreation zone area of the SGNP and 8 boreholes will be in the eco-sensitive zone. 

“As the area is open, the machinery may cause sound pollution and it may have impact on the wildlife,” the proposal said.

The Chief Wildlife Warden has recommended the proposal with conditions like no tree felling barring only a few branches and bushes, no dumping of debris on forest area or any land under the control of the SGNP and suitable measures shall be taken for reducing sound pollution and vibration in bore works.