Straying tiger pits wildlife activists against locals in Bhubaneswar

Press Trust of India | Updated: May 10, 2013
Bhubaneswar: A wild male tiger, which strayed into the Nandankanan Zoo in Bhubaneswar, has put the Orissa government in a spot as locals demand that it should be kept in the zoo while wildlife activists are opposed to it.

As wildlife activists sought the release of the big cat in the wild describing its captivity as illegal, people living near the zoo and adjoining areas launched a signature campaign against the release of the tiger, fearing it may cause harm.

"We fear that the tiger will again return and create problem for human beings," Balaram Lenka, a local resident, said.

The signature campaign has been launched by "Nandan Kanan Suraksha Parishad" headed by Bijoy Patra. An advocate, Patra filed a PIL in Orissa High Court against any move to release the tiger.

Lenka said though the six-year-old healthy Royal Bengal Tiger had not attacked any human being or cow in the area, pugmarks were detected for three years creating panic among people.

"Fortunately, the tiger has been trapped due to its own fault. Its release may create problem in future," the residents of Baranga and Dadha villages said.

However, wildlife activists oppose any move to keep the tiger in captivity as it would violate the law of the land.

"We wish to lodge a strong protest about attempts of the state government to retain the tiger in zoo to bolster its tiger gene pool for captive breeding," said Biswajit Mohanty, a member of the National Board for Wildlife.

In a letter to the Additional PCCF & Member Secretary, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Mohanty said: "It is a blatant violation of wildlife laws as well as the SOP (standard operating procedure) issued by NTCA."

A perfectly healthy male tiger which has obviously strayed from Satkosia Tiger Reserve, the nearest known tiger habitat, is now doomed for life, he pointed out, adding that captivity of the tiger in zoo would amount to clear violation of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Mohanty said keeping the tiger in a cage would violate Section 38I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Quoting the act, he said "... No zoo shall acquire, sell or transfer any wild animal or captive animal specified in Schedule I and II except with the previous permission of the Authority."

This apart, capturing a wild tiger and retaining it illegally without any attempt to release it amounts to "hunting" which is prohibited under section 9 of the WPA, 1972, wildlife activists pointed out.

This offence is punishable under Section 51 (1) of the WPA, 1972 by a jail term of minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 7 years as it relates to a Schedule I species, they said.

To tackle such situations of straying of tigers into human dominated landscapes, NTCA had thoughtfully issued a Standard Operating Procedure recently which lays down protocols of how to handle such instances.

Meanwhile, the Odisha government has set up a technical committee. "We will go by the recommendation of the TC," said chief wildlife warden J D Sharma, adding NTCA guideline suggests that wild animals should be kept in wilderness with radio collars so that its movement can be tracked.

While there is a debate over the retention of the tiger in the zoo, experts feel that release of the wild cat requires careful consideration.

"We should not take any hasty decision on the tiger. We have to consider a lot of issues for safety of the tiger like what are the circumstances which brought him here. What are the threats the animal faced in natural habitation. Tiger is a highly territorial animal. It is not safe to release it in a new place," said Odisha's former wildlife warden Saroj Patnaik.

Patnaik says, "If this tiger is kept in zoo, it should be kept away from public display and with minimum human contact."

Source: http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/straying-tiger-pits-wildlife-activists-against-locals-in-bhubaneswar-365146

Green panel slaps fresh conditions on Posco

Rajaram Satapathy, TNN | Apr 16, 2013
BHUBANESWAR: A high-level committee set up by the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to review the mega Posco steel project in the state has spelled fresh trouble for the much-hyped project.

The committee headed by K Roy Paul was constituted as per the March 30, 2012 order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had suspended the environment clearance granted to the project.

The Paul committee had submitted its report to the MoEF in October. Though the report has not yet been made public, information obtained through the RTI about its findings reveals that the project proposal may have to undergo a complete change in the coming days, including layout, study of its impact on the environment, livelihood of people, water requirement and waste disposal management.

The committee said during its visit, state authorities like the IDCO had informed that land requirement for the project had been reduced to 2,700 acres 'leaving out most of the private lands of Gobindapur and Dhinkia villages and a portion of the forest land where betel vines are grown by the villagers'. "This meant that the layout plan of the project would have to be altered substantially," the report said.

The state government has created an impression that the size of the mega steel plant had been reduced from 12 mtpa to 8 mtpa. Posco authorities, however, have denied such speculation. "Our first phase target capacity is 8 mtpa out of the total 12 mtpa capacity, hence we need reduced area," said Y W Yoon, chairman of Posco-India to a visiting media team at Pune recently.

The Paul committee, however, went by the statements made before it and said: "The project proponent should state unambiguously whether the reduced project area would be adequate to accommodate all plans of future expansion of the steel plant."

While obtaining special CRZ (coastal regulation zone) clearance for road and other infrastructures, 'environment impact should be reassessed for the revised layout plan with at least one month current baseline data for all the components of environment and submitted to the MoEF', the report suggested. The committee objected to any move to draw underground water and took note of the state water resources department's advice to Posco to seek alternate sources of water. "Water availability is a critical issue," the report observed, analyzing the inputs submitted by different government agencies.

The area being prone to cyclone, flood and sea erosion, the report also took note of concerns expressed over construction of a sea protection wall and said the issue must be 'seriously investigated' through nationally reputed agencies. "A long term study may be carried out on the impacts due to erosion of creeks, banks, deepening of the creek and widening of the river mouth (Jatadhari river mouth where Posco wants to set up its captive port)," the report said. "On assessing the documents submitted to the committee, which include the comprehensive EIA (environment impact assessment) for 4 mtpa steel plant, there is still no clarity as regards the scenario relating to future expansion of 12 mtpa capacity, especially about the availability of land, water, minerals and infrastructure," the report observed.

The committee said eight years after signing an MoU to start the project, the government and Posco have not yet carried out many basic studies on issues like actual water availability, the project's impact on fisheries, which support more than 20,000 people in the area, plan for management of oil spills, impact of dredging of material for the private port, impact on marine ecology and wildlife, etc.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Green-panel-slaps-fresh-conditions-on-Posco/articleshow/19569682.cms