Exploring biodiversity, management plan: New study on Asola Bhatti sanctuary in the works

One of the objectives of the study is to evaluate “potential socio-economic changes” on the life of nearby villages “by maintaining the ecological integrity of the ecosystem to ensure the wise use of common ecological goods and services”. It will also look at delineation of the mined-out pits and their attributes, including the plant and animal components and habitats associated with them, and promoting “sustainable eco-tourism”.

The area was earlier used for mining quartzite and sand, leaving deep mining pits behind, one of which, the Neeli Jheel, has now become a man-made lake and is among the main attractions the government wants to promote.

The Delhi Forest Department has recently been making efforts to provide e-cycles and golf carts at the sanctuary to attract visitors. A total of six golf carts and over four dozen electric cycles are now at the sanctuary, according to a senior official in the Forest Department. The golf carts go till the Neeli Jheel, the deepest accessible point in the sanctuary.

Last year, four artificial waterfalls at the Neeli Jheel were started. L-G V K Saxena had asked for electric vehicles to be deployed for visitors to the jheel as part of turning the area into an ‘eco-tourism’ hub. Further, seven ‘nature trails’ to walk through some parts of the sanctuary, and two cycle tracks have been set up. Near the Neeli Jheel, there is a ‘watchtower’ from where the lake can be seen, and a gazebo.

After the Delhi Forest Department had written to the Institute asking for a “comprehensive study” of the biodiversity of sanctuary, WII had submitted a proposal for an amount of around Rs 92 lakh, according to the minutes of a meeting of the Ridge Management Board held on August 24. The Chief Secretary is the chairman of the Board.

The management plan that will also be developed by WII is meant to be for the preservation of the ecosystem and maintaining connectivity with the Aravallis in the neighbouring states. The report released last year, by the Bombay Natural History Society and the Forest Department, said that the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary is part of the Sariska-Delhi wildlife corridor, which runs from the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan to the Delhi Ridge, with “leopard movements” from Rajasthan to Delhi having been “traced on this corridor”.

The Board, while approving the proposal at its meeting last month, had asked that the project may be revised to include a comprehensive study of the biodiversity of the entire ridge in Delhi.

A management plan for the sanctuary was last made by the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, and was to last from 2015-16 to 2024-25. It included aspects like plans to improve wildlife management, rejuvenate the vegetation in the area and remove invasive species, protect the area from encroachment, and improve groundwater recharge.