Gir: The union government has issued a preliminary notification to declare a total area of 184,466.20 hectares around the Gir Protected Area as an Eco-Sensitive Zone. According to this notification, the minimum distance from the sanctuary to the declared eco-sensitive zone area is set at 2.78 km, with a maximum distance of 9.50 km.

Forest Minister Mulubhai Bera stated that in the new Eco-Sensitive Zone, a total of 17 river corridors and 4 important lion movement corridors will be covered. A total of 196 villages, including 59 villages from the Junagadh, Visavadar, Maliya Hatina, and Mendara talukas of Junagadh district; 72 villages from the Dhari, Khambha, and Savarkundla talukas of Amreli district; and 65 villages from the Una, Gir-Somnath, Kodinar, and Talala talukas of Gir-Somnath district, will be included in this new zone. Therefore, a total of 184,466.20 hectares, including 24,680.32 hectares of forest area and 159,785.88 hectares of non-forest area from these 196 villages in the three districts, will be part of the new zone.

The inclusion of this area in the eco-sensitive zone will provide special protection to the lion families in the area. Currently, the area up to 10 km from the Gir Protected Area used to be under the Eco-Sensitive Zone; now, with the reduction of its extent, it will further boost other developmental activities in the locality, the minister added.

Minister of State for Forest and Environment Mukeshbhai Patel stated that the Gir National Park, along with the Gir, Pania, and Mitiala sanctuaries for lions and wildlife in Gujarat, has a total reserved area of 1,468.16 square kilometers. Following the guidelines of the central government and the Supreme Court, an Eco-Sensitive Zone must be declared around this protected area. These eco-sensitive zones remain in effect; previously, the area had a 10 km eco-sensitive zone. The state forest department submitted a proposal to the central government to declare Gir National Park, as well as the Gir, Pania, and Mitiala sanctuaries, as eco-sensitive zones for the protection of lions. Taking this proposal into consideration, the Government of India has recently issued a preliminary notification regarding Eco-Sensitive Zones.

MoS further said that the Forest and Environment Department had collected radio-collar data on lion movements for the last 10 years in the villages surrounding the Gir Protected Area, including incidents of lion killings, important lion movement corridors, and river corridors in Gir. Following this, the protected area has been declared a new eco-sensitive zone. DeshGujarat