Frame visitors policy at protected forest areas, Gujarat CM Patel tells officials

“The Chief Minister made suggestions to the Forest Department to ensure that the wildlife does not get damaged owing to the rising number of tourists-visitors in protected forest areas of the state. For this purpose, he (CM Patel) gave instructions to prepare visitors’ policy/guidelines while promoting eco tourism,” an official statement said.

The release added, “In the meeting, it was also discussed about the rising number of leopards in Gujarat and planning to fix a place of sanctuary for rescued and other leopards.”

About the concept of fixing a place of sanctuary for rescued and other leopards in the state, a senior officer said, “Rising number of leopards is a problem everywhere (in the country). And we discussed it in the meeting. The idea of having a sanctuary or a protected area for leopards in Gujarat is at a preliminary stage. We are working on it.”

aIt was also informed in the meeting that Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary of Banaskantha has been included in the national programme for the conservation of sloth bear by the Union Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, the release stated.

The meeting also discussed the presence of a tiger in Ratanmahal Sanctuary. In its context, it was discussed to impart training on community participation in tiger conservation to locals in that area.

It also added that around 18 proposals related to roads, water supply, optical fibre, renewable energy and power transmission lines were put for approval in the meeting.