Bannerghatta ESZ revival casts shadow on development projects | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: Close on the heels of the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee’s (CEC) recommendation to restore the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) around Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) to its original 2016 extent, spanning 100sqkm, several ongoing development projects initiated after the dilution of the buffer in 2020 are likely to come under scrutiny.Following the publication of the 2020 notification that substantially reduced the ESZ, a number of residential, institutional and commercial projects came up along the park’s periphery. Conservationists revealed that restoring the ESZ to its original extent could have a significant impact on these developments. “The Karnataka Housing Board’s Surya City Phase-4 project alone spans around 2,200 acres and proposes nearly 36,000 residential plots. This entire layout falls within the larger ESZ as proposed in the 2016 draft notification,” said Kiran Urs, a software professional and member of the Bannerghatta Nature Conservation Trust.

Apart from large housing layouts, several resorts, hotels and homestays also came up in the vicinity of BNP during this period. Urs pointed out that a proposed 300-acre campus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) also lies within the ESZ as per the 2016 draft. While educational activities are not outrightly prohibited within eco-sensitive zones, he said such large campuses could lead to a significant increase in vehicular traffic and associated pressures on ecology.Under the ESZ framework, commercial activities are prohibited, while certain activities such as agriculture and eco-tourism are permitted only in a regulated manner, subject to strict conditions. “Any establishment within the ESZ will have to be assessed for its ecological impact,” Urs said.As part of the process recommended by the CEC, a zonal monitoring plan is required to be prepared within six months, along with the constitution of a monitoring committee to evaluate the impact of existing and proposed activities within the ESZ. The committee, Urs said, would include experts in ecology and wildlife conservation, besides representatives of local panchayats and relevant authorities.Box We’ll wait for SC verdict: Govt In the meantime, the state govt clarified that these are the recommendations by the empowered committee and it will wait until the verdict of the Supreme Court, while reiterating its commitment to safeguard biodiversity and promote conservation. “Based on the CEC recommendations, the Supreme Court will seek the state’s response and then we will know the arguments of the CEC. As the reduction of the ESZ was done in 2020, we have to review the circumstances under which the decision was taken to reduce the ESZ. We will have to take stock of activities that may have come up in the area after the final notification. If the court accepts the recommendations, we have to assess how many citizens will be affected by the decision and accordingly chalk out suitable plans,” said Eshwar Khandre, minister for forest, environment and ecology.