Forest land should not be used for mining

Leading ecologist Madhav Gadgil, heading the Western Ghat Expert Ecology Panel (WGEEP) constituted by the ministry of forests and environment (MoEF), in his report, has emphasised that forest land in this densely-forested areas should not be used for mining purposes.

In his report, submitted to the MoEF in August this year and accessed by THE Asian Age, the panel had stressed that the sanctioning of large-scale mining leases in these eco-fragile area would destroy the rich bio-diverse eco-system and also jeopardise a wide spectrum of animals living in these forests.

In what would bring forth one of the worst ecological disasters was the Maharashtra state government’s decision to grant 49 mining leases to excavate iron and bauxite ore in the eco-fragile area of Sindhudurg.

When asked how this mining would affect the animal life in this region, including tigers known to be present both in the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve comprising the Chandoli National Park and Koyna wildlife sanctuary and the Bhimshankar Wildlife Sanctuary, Gadgil replied, “While I have visited the Bhimshankar wildlife sanctuary, my panel members and I did not have the opportunity to visit the Sahyadri tiger reserve. Our report has made specific suggestions on how this ecologically sensitive area can be preserved. But the Western Ghats is a huge area and it was not possible to visit it all.”