Himachal Government has excluded 775 villages of the State from the wildlife sanctuary areas and traditional rights of the people residing there have been restored. This means that development activities like providing basic facilities like roads, electricity and water can now be done.
The move comes in the wake of Apex court ruling this year, wherein the Government was to exclude 793 villages out of animal sanctuary areas. “The ongoing process to exclude the remaining villages out of few sanctuary areas would soon be completed,” said Kewal Singh Pathania, vice-chairperson, HP State Forest Corporation. The decision to exclude few villages in the range of Great Himalayan National Park, which includes Tirthan and Sainj areas of district Kullu, Nargu Sanctuary in Mandi, Kanawar in Kullu and that of Renuka Sanctuary area would soon be taken and all the villages would be taken out sanctuary areas for which the process is underway.
Pathania said as many as 318 villages of Chamba district falling under the sanctuaries had already been excluded. After the rational-isation process, there were now 30 wildlife sanctuaries spread around 6,226.83 sq. km, two national parks, the Great Himalayan National Park and the Pin Valley National Park comprising of 1,440 sq. km and three conservation reserves (19.17 sq. km).