Mullayanagiri as conservation reserve in Karnataka will protect Neelakurinji species
'When the proposal was first conceptualised, the area identified in Mullayanagiri where the Neelakurinji blooms was 16,000 acres in 2020. When the proposal was reconsidered and cleared at the last State Wildlife Board meeting, the area had been reduced to 9,000 acres,' sources in the department said.
The species that blooms in Mullayangiri is different from what is found in the Nilgiri mountains, Strobilanthes kunthiana. Experts from the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) said around 32 Neelakurinji species have been discovered so far.
'The shrubs are difficult to identify unless they bloom, which happens once in 12 years. It is also interesting as the species which was ideally found in higher altitudes is now found in the foothills and other forest patches,' said Dr Saheed S Hameed, senior scientist, head of office, BSI, Southern Regional Centre.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife, PC Rai said the proposal was sent to the revenue department two months ago, after the State Wildlife Board's standing committee approved the idea to declare the region as a conservation reserve. Principal Secretary, Revenue department, Rajendra Kataria said a ground report from the district administration has been sought, and a resurvey is being done. Many of the identified areas are inam lands, sold, developed or are private lands.
Sources said a survey is under way to identify developed forest lands, to exchange for revenue land proposed as a conservation reserve. The forest department is also pinning its hopes on the National Green Tribunal, Chennai, that has taken up a suo motu hearing on protecting the Neelakurinji species and declaring them protected by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 'If all the Neelakurinji species are declared IUCN, then not just Nilgiris, but all parts of Western Ghats will also be protected,' forest officials said.
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