Leh, Sep 12 (KNS): The Ladakh State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) has rejected a sub-committee report on the finalisation of boundaries of three protected wildlife areas, with Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena directing that the settlement of rights and claims of local communities be completed within two months.

The decision, taken at the 16th meeting of the newly constituted State Board for Wildlife chaired by Saxena on Friday, is expected to pave the way for a lawful and participatory process for finalising the boundaries of the Hemis National Park, High Altitude Cold Desert (Changthang) Wildlife Sanctuary and Karakoram (Nubra-Shyok) Wildlife Sanctuary, particularly in the newly created districts.

The move is also expected to provide long-awaited clarity to local communities over the boundaries of the protected areas and recognition of their longstanding settlements, habitations and traditional rights.

Local residents have maintained that settlements and human habitations have existed in these areas for a very long time and fall outside the purview of the wildlife sanctuaries. However, the earlier sub-committee had included these areas in its report.

The erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir government had issued a preliminary notification regarding the boundaries of the sanctuaries in 1987. During detailed deliberations on the final notification of the three protected areas, the Board noted that the notification issued by the erstwhile J&K government had not correctly mapped the boundaries on the ground.

Saxena observed that the statutory process prescribed under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, for settlement of the rights of individuals and communities residing in the proposed protected areas had not been undertaken by the sub-committee.

The process was neither initiated nor completed, while the delineation of boundaries was carried out through a table-top exercise without adherence to the legal framework, he said.

The Lieutenant Governor noted that this rendered the exercise inconsistent with the provisions of the Act, inequitable to affected communities and susceptible to legal challenges.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

The Board also observed that several areas included in the sub-committee report are of strategic importance and have implications for national security. Mandatory defence considerations, it noted, had not been duly factored into the report.

Saxena further observed that international boundaries depicted in Survey of India maps had not been taken as a reference point, which is essential while determining the limits of any protected area.

Taking serious note of the discrepancies, the Lieutenant Governor directed that the sub-committee report be set aside.

The Board directed the designated Deputy Commissioners/Settlement Officers to resume the process of public hearings and complete the proceedings within two months.

Saxena urged people to come forward with their claims and land titles, as well as claims relating to traditional rights, including those over pasture lands, so that the administration can arrive at a fair decision on the boundaries of the protected areas.

The Board noted that early completion of the settlement process would be of significant importance to local communities by providing greater clarity, certainty and recognition of their bona fide rights in the protected areas. It would also provide a clearer framework for wildlife conservation and development activities in the region.

The Board also ratified 23 important projects and forwarded them to the Standing Committee of the National Board of Wildlife, Government of India, for clearance.

The projects include proposals related to power transmission infrastructure in strategically important border areas, defence infrastructure and other essential projects in the Karakoram and Changthang areas.

The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary, UT Ladakh, Ashish Kundra; Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden S. Rajesh, IFS; members of the State Board for Wildlife; senior officers of the UT Administration; and officers of the Department of Forest, Wildlife, Ecology and Environment.