Citing it a people’s friendly proposal, a Centre’s top wildlife panel has given go ahead to a four-year-old drinking water supply project proposed in the habitat of the Kota’s newly established Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR) in Rajasthan, without waiting for the approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The Northern State will go for Assembly elections later this year.
The matter was discussed at a recent meeting of the Union Environment Ministry’s Standing Committee of National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) which have green signal to the Rs 50 crore-Bhaisrodgah-Borav Water Supply project, allowing diversion of 10.71508 hactres of forestland from Mukundara National Park for the purpose.
The MHTR was declared reserve five years back to cater to the spillover tiger population from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve which at present is reported to be around 65 tigers. The State Government is yet to release big cats in the region.
Even as the NTCA informed at the meeting that its Site Inspection Committee report would be submitted within seven days, the NBWL chaired by Union Environment Minister Dr Harshvardhan decided not to wait further and instead gave in to the request of the State Chief Wildlife Warden G V Reddy who argued that the proposal for construction of the water supply project was for the benefit of villagers of district Kota in the Northern State.
While giving approval, the NBWL has made it mandatory upon the project proponent to ensure one connection for drinking water at end point village Udpuria free of cost for providing the drinking water to wild animals in the adjoining deep forest in Wildlife Kota division.
The project proponent has also been asked among other conditions to ensure that no material of any kind are extracted and no trees are cut in the Protected Area.
A senior official from the State said that the proposed piped water supply will do away the handpumps in 36 villages in six gram panchayats, Bhaisrodgarh, Sripura, Dhanganmmau Kallan, Borav, Tamboliya and Gopalpura of panchayat Samiti Bhaisrodgarh (Distt. Chittaurgarh) assembly constituency.
To solve (permanently) drinking water problems of proposed all villages and other habitations this project has been sanctioned based on surface source (river Chambal). In this project it is proposed to use existing Intake of RWSS Bhainsrorgarh (with rejuvenation and construction of Intake Structure adjoining to existing Intake) as source Intake.
The project was sanctioned by the State Government way back in 2014.
“Since, locations of proposed all 38 villages and 27 other habitations can not be changed and the route of pipe line has to be taken along the existing roads. Therefore, the Bhainsrodgarh-Borav water supply project is located in forest area/ protected area,” said the official.
MHTR is rich in flora and fauna with the perennial Chambal river flowing through it. There are around 60 panthers, 1,000 cheetal/sambhar deer, 60 bears, 1,000 wild boars and 500 blue bulls.