The State Government on Thursday issued the final notification by which 600 sq kms area of reserved forest, civil and Van Panchayat, and some uncategorised areas have been declared to be Askot wildlife sanctuary which was earlier known as the Askot musk deer sanctuary.
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has excluded 111 villages covering about 32,000 hectares from the scope of this wildlife sanctuary in order to facilitate development in Indo-China and Indo-Nepal border area of Dharchula.
Though this decision is aimed at developing infrastructure in the border area and benefitting about 54,000 inhabitants of the area, wildlife activists state that the area dedicated to wildlife will shrink and development works will disturb the environment and wildlife.
The initial notification on the Askot Musk Deer Sanctuary had been done in 1986. However, other than reserved forests, the boundaries of the surrounding areas were not made clear. Due to this, the entire Dharchula Tehsil, parts of Munsyari and Didihaat were considered to be part of the sanctuary.
Any non-forestry work in these areas needed to be cleared by the Union Government and National Wildlife Board, which slowed down development in these areas including 111 villages which were considered a part of the sanctuary.
After considerable thought the State government decided that to issue the final notification on the original sanctuary, the permission of the Supreme Court was not required. At the behest of the CM, the State Government issued the final notification on July 25, excluding 111 villages and declaring 600 sq kms area of reserved forest, civil and Van Panchayat, and some uncategorised areas as the Askot Wild life Sanctuary.
Along with the villages, the border and revenue plots along the reserved forests have also been excluded from the sanctuary. The rights those living in nearby villages would be according to the forest rights regulations while all the roads connecting the rural areas would be outside the sanctuary.
The roads connecting the main plots would be built by the Forest Department. Ghandhura, Sistham and Payya reserve forests, along with other reserved forests, Van Panchayat and other uncategorised areas will now constitute the sanctuary while all the Van Panchayats and civil areas of Didihaat Tehsil have been kept out of the sanctuary.
While the State government is calling this a “historic decision”, wildlife activists point out that though the decision may benefit locals, the area dedicated to wildlife will decrease and the planned development works are bound to disturb the environment and wildlife. The Askot sanctuary area is known to host musk deer, leopard, serow, Himalayan brown bear and other wildlife.