Karnataka: Bommai government allocates Rs 100 crore as eco-budget to restore forests

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its ‘Report No. 5 of 2021 — Compliance Audit on Union Government (Railways) year ended March 2019’ — had stated that railway collisions were the second largest cause of unnatural deaths of 61 elephants between 2016 and 2019 across the country.

Reacting to the announcements made in the Budget, former Indian Forest Service officer B K Singh said Rs 100 crore is too less to restore the original status of the forests that have been devastated.

“Man-animal conflict too needs much more than Rs 100 crore provided for barricading areas where train tracks pass. In addition to barricades, a number of other steps like habitat restoration, corridors conservation and frequent tracking by staff etc are required to minimise the conflicts,” he opined.

Stating his reasons for objections, he explained, “Forests have been continuously subjected to degradation on account of diversion of forests for development projects, illicit felling of trees, grazing, encroachments and forest fires etc. To stop further acceleration of the ill effects is quite challenging. The nexus between bureaucrats and politicians have been encouraging local communities to clear forests and claim rights under the Forest Rights Act. Every time the election is announced, forests are occupied and the rights are claimed and politicians across party lines support it to lure the voters.”

“Conservation reserves have been suffering from shortage of funds. Rs 5 crore is quite a good initiative as conservation in many of the reserves is important for long-term survival of wildlife species and restoration of habitats and corridors,” he added.

A birds and butterfly sanctuary will also be established at Belagavi district’s Hidkal dam area for their conservation and to create awareness among the public, Bommai said in his Budget speech.

“For the first time in the country, an innovative ‘Blue-Plastic Management Scheme’ will be brought into force with assistance of the World Bank in the next five years at a cost of Rs 840 crore to address the issue of plastics polluting water resources in the coastal areas,” Bommai said.

The CM also announced that the administrative mechanism of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) will be reformed so as to fulfil the objectives of legislations formulated for protection of environment and strengthening its implementation.

In the backdrop of increasing demand for green space in the rapidly growing Bengaluru city, the government will develop a multi-purpose ‘Atal Bihari Vajpayee Park’ in an extent of 350 acre of government land in Jarakabande area of Yelahanka on the model of Lalbagh-Cubbon parks, he informed.

The state government will also construct the Green Expo at the 105-acre land of the defunct NGEF. “It is essential to create awareness among the public on sustainable lifestyles. ‘Green Expo’, on the lines of the Singapore model, will be constructed in the heart of Bengaluru on 105 acre of land belonging to NGEF. Demonstrations on eco-friendly technology, eco-friendly transport, green infrastructure, green start-up and other demonstrations will be provided to the public at the Green Expo,” the CM said.

Survey will be conducted in the 33,000 lakes falling under the various gram panchayats. In the initial stage, around 1,000 lakes will be identified and developed at a cost of Rs 10 lakh per lake and for this, Rs 100 crore was allocated. Desilting of the rivers along the National highways of the State and construction of new lakes will be taken up in coordination with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

The civic agency, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), has been directed to prepare a comprehensive development plan of Madiwala and Yalemallappashetty lakes in Bengaluru.