Seven wildlife experts have submitted a representation to the state and central governments, warning that a series of permissions and proposed forest land diversion could threaten the Asiatic lion habitat in and around the Gir landscape.
The experts alleged that mining, resort-related development, and the re-entry of Maldhari families into protected areas could adversely affect lion corridors and wildlife conservation efforts in the region.
A proposal to divert 75 hectares of the Babarkot Reserve Forest for mining purposes poses a threat to more than 50 lions and other Schedule I wildlife that permanently inhabit the area, the signatories said.
They also alleged that permission has been granted to a folk artist to re-enter a ness in Lilapani, despite the government having allotted land to the family under the Santhani resettlement scheme in Chachai village.
The signatories warned that the permission has prompted more than 50 other Maldharis to seek similar re-entry, calling it “absolutely contrary to the government’s own scheme for the resettlement of Maldharis outside the Gir Sanctuary.”
They further alleged that forest land near Khicha village in Dhari taluka of Amreli district is being diverted under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) for a resort named Leonia, which they described as operating illegally.
The signatories include current members Snehal Patel of Nature Club Surat, advocate Rohit Vyas, C.T. Rana, Suresh Bhatt and Sanjay Kelaiya, and former members Bhushan Pandya and Revtubha Rayjada.
