leopard at Maruti’s Manesar plant indicates perils of depleting forests due to urbanization
The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki’s second manufacturing facility in Manesar was built back in 2004-05 when the area was a desolate and dry spot of land in the foothills of the Aravalis. The Haryana Government had designated this area to become another manufacturing hub much before the rapidly growing residential complexes in Gurgaon. Yet, just over a decade later, the Maruti plant is just one of the tens of major manufacturing facilities in the area, as a result of which, several new residential and commercial buildings have also come up. In fact, down the National Highway that connects Delhi and Jaipur, it appears that industrial, commercial and residential developments stretch from Delhi all the way to Neemrana on the Rajasthan border, almost a 100 kilometers. This shrubland with less fertile land was ideal to appropriate for manufacturing, yet the area offered shelter to all kinds of wildlife. Now instead of open grassland, the area has more concrete than grass. Although tigers, which used to roam freely even so far north until mercilessly hunted down from Mughal Emperors to British Officers might have died down, but big cats such as leopards plainly still hunt these areas. A leopard entering the premises of the factory is not remarkable in itself but remarkable because such incidents do not happen more often. It is likely that the massive amounts of noise and vibration made by industrial machines must scare such cats. But this was not an isolated incident in this region of southern Haryana. A few months ago, villagers on the Gurgaon-Sohna road trapped a leopard and bludgeoned it to death. Other times, the cats have thankfully escaped with their lives. Almost universally though, the forest department, which is responsible for the safety of the animals and works to prevent such incidents from escalating, comes too late. In Mumbai as well, as suburbs seemingly encroach into areas such as the Sanjay Gandhi Reserve, the world’s largest urban forest reserve, daily leopard sightings and almost monthly events. On the BBC’s natural history show ‘Planet Earth II’ Mumbai’s leopards play a starring role in one episode on the urban habitat of animals.
While the amount of incidents of conflicts goes up, this situation is unlikely to redress itself. One solution towards preventing any fatalities, as some children have been known to have been snatched by big cats and preventing local residents from killing the animals, private animal control firms should emerge. While there are hundreds of organisations working for Indian wildlife, few offer actionable solutions to these conflicts. At the same time, State Governments and cities should think twice before allowing increased development towards hitherto pristine natural areas. There are severe population pressures which will lead to more encroachment, but with better planning of development earmarking some areas for development and others to be left alone is important. India is blessed with an amazing natural heritage and wildlife in India is a key source of tourism into the country. Seeing pictures of bloodied and beaten up animals in
newspapers is a blot on India.