More national parks planned

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From the India News Network

Vivek Tiwari
vtiwari@scdt.intel.com

#2 More national parks, sanctuaries planned

COIMBATORE, Nov 11 (PTI)

The Union Environment Ministry is planning to establish another 73 national parks and 79 wildlife sanctuaries in addition to the existing 75 national parks and 421 wildlife sanctuaries in India, the Union minister of state for environment and forests, Capt Jai Narain Prasad Nishad said.

These parks and sanctuaries would be set up under the protected areas network, under which more biosphere reserves would come up in addition to the eight existing reserves, the minister said inaugurating the first Pan-Asian Ornithological Congress and 13th Birdlife Asia Conference here on Saturday.

Serious attention was being given to rare and endangered birds and their habitats and the Centre`s concern was not confined to only those species found within its political borders. The government was committed to the protection of waterfowl and wetlands of international importance under the ramsar convention, under which six 'ramsar` sites had been declared, he said, adding that a bilateral treaty had been signed with Russia for the study and protection of migratory birds.

Capt Nishad said the action plan to cleanse the Ganga had been enlarged into a 'national river conservation programme`. Under the programme, 17 major rivers in the country, including the Cauvery and Damodar, would be cleansed covering 28 cities, he said.

The Cabinet had approved the plan and it would be initiated soon.

The Environment Ministry had also done preliminary work on the lake conservation plan. The lakes to be conserved in major cities had been identified and state governments would have to submit the plans for it, he said.

However, the project would be taken up only in the Ninth Plan as the funds could be allocated then, he said.

Asked about plans to revise the Tehri Dam project, he said as per the agreement reached between Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, and the Chipko Movement leader, Mr Sundarlal Bahuguna, a committee had been set up to review the safety aspects of the dam.

Though the height of the dam was unlikely to be reduced, the committee would also make suggestions on the system to be adopted for the safety of the dam, which is coming up in an area prone to earthquakes, he said.

To a question on improving forest cover in the country, Capt Nishad said it could not be done without the local people`s involvement. They could be involved in joint forest management to inculcate in them a sense of belonging and a need to preserve forests, he said.

To implement joint forestry management in a better way, government had asked the panchayats to utilise the JRY funds for afforestation, he said. Asked about criticism that the environment laws lacked teeth, he said implementation of the laws concerned many departments, which were already overloaded with other work.

To a question on having an environment wing in the industry ministry for speedy clearance of projects, he said such a proposal had not been made to the environment ministry.

Mr Nishad further said that environment clearance for all projects was being given only after getting the environment impact assessement.

Capt Nishad, said though the number of tigers in the country had declined, the situation was not as alarming as it had been made out to be by some people.

''Actually, the number of tigers in the sanctuaries have increased. But we are anxious about the reports of the failure of the project tiger and we want to have things under control.``

A special meeting had been held with non-officials interested in Project Tiger and a decision had been taken to appoint a committee to look into the reports.

The Union Environment Ministry plans to complete its phase-wise introduction of lead-free petrol in various parts of the country by April 1, 2001, the Union minister of state for environment and forests, Capt Jai Narain Prasad Nishad, said, reports PTI from Coimbatore.

Lead-free petrol had already been introduced in four metros of the country but there was a delay in introducing it in other cities as vehicle manufacturers were taking time to produce vehicles with catalytic converters, he told reporters here soon after inaugurating the first pan-Asian Ornithological Congress (Pasoc).

Asked about the success of the introduction of lead-free petrol in the four metros, he said that old vehicles which did not have catalytic converters would have to be phased out if the real effect had to be felt.

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