State Board For Wildlife Rejects Report Of Sub-Committee On Settlement Of Boundaries In Protected Areas Of Ladakh

LEH, Sept 12: Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has directed completion within two months of the settlement of rights and claims of local communities in three protected areas of Ladakh, after the State Board for Wildlife rejected the report of a sub-committee on finalisation of their boundaries.

The direction was issued at the 16th meeting of the newly constituted State Board for Wildlife (SBWL), chaired by Saxena on Friday. The three protected areas are Hemis National Park, High Altitude Cold Desert (Changthang) Wildlife Sanctuary and Karakoram (Nubra-Shyok) Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Board observed that the sub-committee had not followed the statutory process under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, for settlement of rights of individuals and communities residing in the proposed protected areas. It noted that the boundary delineation was carried out through a table-top exercise without adhering to the prescribed legal framework.

The Board also noted that several areas covered in the report are strategically important and that mandatory defence considerations had not been adequately factored in. It further observed that international boundaries depicted in Survey of India maps were not taken as a reference while determining the protected areas.

Taking serious note of the discrepancies, the Board set aside the sub-committee report and directed the designated Deputy Commissioners/Settlement Officers to resume public hearings and complete the proceedings within two months.

Saxena urged local residents to submit claims and titles relating to land and traditional rights, including pasture lands, to facilitate a fair determination of the boundaries.

The Board also ratified 23 projects and forwarded them to the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife for clearance, including power transmission, defence and other essential infrastructure projects in the strategically important Karakoram and Changthang regions.