LG holds review meeting to discuss status of rationalisation of Karakoram/Changthang Wildlife Sanctuaries

Leh, Dec 10: The Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Brigadier (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) held a meeting to review and discuss the status of the rationalisation of the Karakoram and Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuaries, at the LG Secretariat. Chairman, LAHDC Leh, Advocate Tashi Gyalson; Member of Parliament from Ladakh, Shri Jamyang Tsering Namgyal; Deputy Chairman, LAHDC Leh, Shri Tsering Angchuk; Advisor to HLG, Dr Pawan Kotwal, IAS; Executive Councillors- Shri Tashi Namgyal Yakzee and Shri Ghulam Mehdi; Commissioner Secretary, Dr Vasanthakumar N, IAS; Secretary to HLG, Sri Ravinder Kumar, IAS; APCCF Shri Brij Mohan Sharma, IFS; Chief Wildlife Warden, Shri Sajjad Hussain Mufti, IFS; Deputy Commissioner, Leh, Shri Santosh Sukhadeve and officials from Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, joined the meeting physically and virtually.
At the outset, Advisor to HLG, Dr Pawan Kotwal, apprised the HLG of the legal status of the Wildlife Sanctuaries. He informed about the notification and management of the protected areas under J&K Wildlife Protection Act 1978, the Act being repealed vide J&K Reorganisation Act 2019 and the extension of Central Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 to UT Ladakh and the exercise of determination of rights of the people living in Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary in 2022 which has not been completed yet. He also informed that there is no legal distinction between the core area and the buffer zone of the protected area of wildlife sanctuary.
Shri Kotwal informed the HLG about the letter written by him to Dr Sathyakumar, Scientist G at WII Dehradun, to ‘generate maps of the wildlife sanctuaries in accordance with the boundaries laid down in the notifications No’s SRO 155 (Changthang WLS) and SRO 152 (Karakoram WLS) would be the starting point for conducting any rationalisation exercise.’ He stated that contrary to the communication from the UT Administration, WII Dehradun has generated a map with increased WLS areas.
Chairman, LAHDC Leh, Advocate Tashi Gyalson; MP Ladakh, Shri Jamyang Tsering Namgyal and Deputy Chairman, Executive Councillors from LAHDC Leh, highlighted the need to renotify the Karakoram and Changthang Wildlife Sanctuaries and pointed out various loopholes in the notifications regarding fixing the wildlife boundaries.
Highlighting that the exercise of rationalisation of boundaries of Karakoram and Changthang Wildlife Sanctuaries has been going on for the past few months, the HLG stated that the issues/parties involved in this aspect are the protection of wildlife of Ladakh, the people of Ladakh inhabiting+ the area and then the ground reality and requirement of the people. He highlighted the importance of following the present situation and the condition of the people living in these wildlife sanctuaries. He asked WII Dehradun not to go beyond the Terms of Reference (ToR) provided by the Administration.
The HLG asked the concerned officials of Wildlife/Forest Department, UT Ladakh, to prepare a case pointing out all the dichotomies, public grievances and interim permission needed for people engaged in tourism activities to run homestays, hotels/guest houses in wildlife sanctuaries, so that necessary guidance can be sought from the Ministry of Home Affairs before proceeding further on the exercise of rationalisation of the boundaries of the Karakoram and Changthang Wildlife Sanctuaries.