A panel of Rajasthan wildlife board has approved de-notification of a forest area in Banshi Pahadpur hills in Bharatpur as a sanctuary after a forest department survey found that there were no animals or forests in the area.
Pink sandstone mined from the hills is being supplied to Ayodhya for the construction of the Ram temple, say locals and Vishwa Hindu Parishad officials.
A senior forest official, who is familiar with the developments, said the standing committee of State Board of Wildlife (SBWL), in a recent meeting, has recommended de-notifying forest area of Banshi Pahadpur sanctuary. “There is no forest or animal, and it is difficult to understand why it was made a sanctuary? The government is not only suffering revenue loss due to illegal mining but also unnecessarily, the department’s image is tarnished,” the official mentioned above, said.
The standing committee has recommended de-notifying the sanctuary area to SBWL. Once the SBWL approves, it will be further recommended to the National Board of Wildlife, said the official.
Bharatpur district collector Nathmal Didel said the mining, forest and revenue departments have studied the area of Banshi Pahadpur and found that there was no forest cover or animals for the last three decades. “We are trying to de-notify the area of sanctuary to permit mining. If the mining is legalised, it would not only generate revenue but also create employment,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Bharatpur district collector Nathmal Didel said the mining, forest and revenue departments have studied the area of Banshi Pahadpur and found that there was no forest cover or animals for the last three decades. “We are trying to de-notify the area of sanctuary to permit mining. If the mining is legalised, it would not only generate revenue but also create employment,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}A recommendation has been made to de-notify around 643ha of 2000-hectare land of Banshi Pahadpur wildlife sanctuary for mining, he said.
A retired IFS official, on condition of anonymity, said this would be the second such instance, when a forest land would be de-notified in the state. Earlier in 2017, the Rajasthan government had de-notified 357.23 hectares of Ramgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, falling in Bundi town and adjoining villages, paving the way for the residents of these areas to avail benefits of various development schemes.
He said the first instance was for housing, “but today it’s for mining - what precedent are we setting,” he asked.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which has been sourcing stones from the Banshi Pahadpur hills for the construction of the Ram Temple for the past five years, had approached the Bharatpur district administration over a delay in supply of stones in September-October 2020.
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The district administration had then said that the stones were being illegally mined after three trucks, loaded with the pink sandstones, were seized on September 27 in a joint operation of the police, forest and revenue departments.
An official of the district administration said, “The pink and yellow sandstone is in high demand. Illegal mining activity in the area feeds processing units in the district. The district administration takes action against illegal mining randomly.”
According to the state mines department officials, until December 1996, around 42 legal mines of pink, red and yellow sandstone operated in the Banshi Pahadpur forest area. However, the Supreme Court prohibited non-forest activities in forest areas without diversion under the Forest Act through its order dated December 12, 1996.