BSY govt not keen on conserving Hesaraghatta grasslands

Bengaluru : The State government seems to be hardening its stand on environmentalists' demand for declaring Hesaraghatta grasslands as conservation reserve.

Last month, Chief Minister B.S Yediyurappa had rejected the proposal after Yelahanka legislator S.R. Vishwanath opposed the idea.

The response to a letter written by Tyag Uthapa, a member of Karnataka State Wildlife Advisory Board, to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden is still awaited.

Sharing the details of the letter, Uthapa told The Hans India that the presence of the MLA in a board meeting for wildlife was not allowed and nobody was given a chance to speak.

"The CM had a sympathetic nod on his face after forcefully tried to put his point across that such a vast tract of land hardly 35 km from Bangalore City should not be declared as conservation reserve as the farmers are likely be affected by it," Uthapa said.

Uthapa said that it has been a month since the board meeting was held but its minutes were not sent to them till now. The board meeting was concluded without discussion on the issue.

"I would like to impress upon you that Grass, which is the most universal plant with 10,000 varieties, is also one of the most sensitive plants. Grasslands are the feeding grounds not only for large plant eaters, but also for meat eaters, insects, birds, rodents, snakes and many more. You take away the grass you take away the very life supporting system.

Naturalists and wildlife enthusiasts all over the State have reported that Hesaraghatta grasslands have become breeding grounds now or at least home for such rare birdlife like Greater Spotted Eagle, Lesser Florican (only a few hundreds left). Apart from this, it is also home to Slender Loris, Smooth Coated Otter, and Indian Leopard," the letter read.

Project Vruksha Founder Vijay Nishanth said that the government should first discuss the issue and then reach a conclusion.

"How can a politician influence the discussion? If we do away with grasslands now the consequences will be huge. A large section of the people who keep environmental issues at heart are certainly against the project," he said.

The current issue is reminiscent of the methods used to trample the majority decision of scrapping the Hubbali-Ankola rail project. Though the consensus was against the project, it was cleared by the State Wildlife Board.

Taking a note of it the Karnataka High Court observed that this was a classic example where the sitting ministers influenced a case.

Chief Justice Abhay Sreenivas Oka said, "In a period of 11 days, how did the decision change? There was consensus on March 9 for its rejection while on March 20, the project was cleared. Though the ministers were not the members of the board they were allowed to address the meeting.

The 1912 acres of Hesaraghatta lakebed flanked by 356 acres Hesaraghatta grasslands is the last remaining grassland in Bengaluru. The government mulls building a film city here, a move opposed by ecological experts."

A petition started by photographer Mahesh Bhat to appeal to the State government to drop the idea of turning the pristine land into a commercial centre stated that the protection of the grasslands is critical to the rejuvenation of Arkavathy river basin. The petition has garnered more than 6,000 signatures.