Karnataka, a step away from declaring its first marine sanctuary at Apsarakonda near Karwar | Bengaluru News
BENGALURU: Resolving hurdles for declaring Karnataka’s first marine sanctuary, the standing committee of the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL), headed by Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre, on Wednesday gave its approval to declare ‘Mugli-Apsarakonda Marine Sanctuary’ as Karnataka’s first marine sanctuary. Deferred multiple times previously, the proposal now awaits the state cabinet nod to be formally notified as the state’s first marine sanctuary.Deliberating on the long-pending proposal, the committee unanimously resolved to recommend the project for final approval by the state cabinet. “The sanctuary will cover an area of 5,960 hectares, out of which 835.02 hectares comprise the territorial water body of the Arabian Sea extending up to 6 km from the shore, and another 835.302 hectares of laterite plateau will be part of the marine sanctuary,” explained a forest official who was part of the meeting.The proposal to declare the first marine sanctuary of Karnataka was pending before the state cabinet ever since it was approved by the Karnataka State Board for Wildlife (SBWL), headed by then CM BS Yediyurappa. He even announced in his budget speech an allocation of Rs 1 crore for setting up the marine sanctuary. However, the proposal was deferred due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Subsequently, in 2022, the official announcement was deferred yet again.However, the project finally gained momentum and was placed before the cabinet on Thursday.Once declared, this will be the seventh marine sanctuary of India after the two in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and one each in Gujarat, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra. Out of the 5,960 hectares, the Mugli-Apsarakonda Marine Sanctuary will have 5,400 hectares of mangrove forests along with endangered species such as humpback whales, spot-tail sharks, olive-ridley turtles, and 80 species of sea birds. The 14 species of coral reefs found around Netrani Island, over 50 phytoplankton, and more than 100 zooplankton species, along with two species of sea grass and 100 plus species of seaweeds, will also be part of the sanctuary, according to senior officials from the Forest Department.
Bhimgad villagers to be rehabilitated on May 17
The standing committee of the SBWL also resolved to complete the controversial rehabilitation of villagers from Talaiwadi village in Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary of Khanapur taluk in Belagavi district. This is the first non-tiger reserve rehabilitation project which courted controversy over disparity in providing financial packages. While the state government resolved to pay each of the 15 families Rs 15 lakh, villagers demanded more money along with other facilities.However, Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre held a midnight meeting with the villagers in December 2024 during the winter session of the legislature at Belagavi and convinced the villagers to voluntarily relocate outside the forest. Officials revealed that on May 17, the villagers will be handed over cheques at a function in Bhimgad Sanctuary.
