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New Indian Express
23-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Odisha to seek MoEFCC clearance on Deomali eco-tourism project
BHUBANESWAR : The state government is working to get clearance of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on Deomali eco-tourism project within three months as ordered by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), sources in the Forest department said. As an alternative option, it is also considering to go for appeal against the tribunal order. PCCF (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden Prem Kumar Jha said the department is going through the details of the NGT order. 'As we have been granted three months time, a decision permissible under law will be taken soon to comply with the order within the timeline,' Jha informed. The NGT recently asked the state government to get clearance from the Centre for the structure under Forest (Conservation) Act within three months or demolish them and restore the land to its original form. The NGT's Eastern Zone bench of Justice B Amit Sthalekar (Judicial member) and Arun Kumar Verma (Expert member) had held that constructions made under the guise of eco-tourism development violated forest conservation norms and lacked requisite permissions.
Time of India
19-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
29 gharial hatchlings found on Mahanadi sandbar in Satkosia
Bhubaneswar: In a cheer for wildlife lovers, officials of the wildlife wing on Monday discovered 29 hatchlings of the endangered gharial on a sandbar in the Mahanadi gorge in . This is the fifth consecutive year the forest department reported natural breeding of gharials at the same nesting ground. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "To avoid any kind of disturbance during nesting, nobody has been allowed to venture into the gorge. After four days, we will be able to observe them directly. This time also, it is the same nesting site at Balabadamara under Tikarpada range," said divisional forest officer (Satkosia), Saroj Panda. Usually, the nesting occurs between March and May every year, but the survival rate of is 0.1%, the same as that of Olive Ridley sea turtles, officials said. In Feb, the gharial census revealed the numbers in the wild increased by two compared to last year, reaching 16 in the Mahanadi gorge. Satkosia is the only place in the state where gharials breed in the wild. It also houses a (Gracu). In Jan last year, Nandankanan zoo, which is involved in Satkosia's gharial recovery programme, extended the four-year planned breeding project by another three years after a year's gap. The four-year project was from 2019 to 2022. "It is an indication of improvement in habitat that gharials increased by two in the wild. This time also, breeding was successful. Gharials are sensitive aquatic animals, and their survival rate in the wild is very low," said chief wildlife warden Prem Kumar Jha.
Hans India
19-05-2025
- General
- Hans India
Turtle tagged with device reaches AP coast
Kendrapara: An Olive Ridley turtle, which was earlier tagged with a satellite-linked tracking device at Gahirmatha beach in Kendrapara district, has travelled around 1,000 km in the sea in 51 days to reach the Andhra Pradesh coast, an official said. The turtle traversed the waters of Sri Lanka, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu before reaching the coast of the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, he said. 'The turtle navigated through the sea waters of Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, and reached the Andhra Pradesh coast in 51 days. It covered around 1,000 km,' the official said. The latest satellite tracking map of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has located one of the tagged turtles moving in the sea waters in Andhra Pradesh, and found that it has navigated around 1,000 km, said Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Prem Kumar Jha. A turtle, tagged with a tracking device in Odisha four years back, had earlier covered 3,500 km to lay eggs at a beach in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra recently. The Olive Ridley turtles turn up in millions for mass nesting along the Odisha coast every year. Gahirmatha beach, off the Bay of Bengal, in Kendrapara district is acclaimed as the world's largest known nesting ground of these marine species. The aquatic animals also turn up at the Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district and the Devi river mouth in Puri for mass nesting. According to officials, around 3,000 turtles are tagged with a tracking device annually. Experts believed that at least 1 lakh turtles are required to be tagged for obtaining better information on their reproductive biology, movements and growth rates, migratory route and areas of foraging. The Odisha Forest department had taken up the tagging exercise in 1999, and at least two tagged turtles then were sighted on the Sri Lanka coast. Later, the tagging exercise was suspended, and the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) resumed the exercise in 2021. Between 2021 and 2024, around 12,000 turtles were tagged in Gahirmatha and Rushikulya river mouth nesting grounds, the officials said.
Time of India
04-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Process to notify Debrigarh as tiger reserve begins with formation of expert panel
1 2 Bhubaneswar: Three years after the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) approved tiger reserve status for Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, the wildlife wing has formed a three-member expert committee to carry out ground assessment. The panel will conduct field study once it receives approval from state govt. After the expert committee report is submitted and govt notification issued, Debrigarh will become Odisha's third tiger reserve after Satkosia, which was declared in 2007, officials said. "The expert committee will start working once the govt gives the go-ahead. Within two to three weeks, their reports will be ready, after which the govt will decide when to notify the tiger reserve," said chief wildlife warden Prem Kumar Jha. Once the reserve is notified, tiger habitat management will undergo a huge change. NTCA's approval came at the end of Jan, two months after a Royal Bengal Tiger walked into Debrigarh, which had no big cat. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo "After the notification, it will be the first tiger reserve in western Odisha. The reserve, as per NTCA's recommendation, will have a total area of 804 sq km with a sanctuary area of 353 sq km without human habitation as the core. Inside the core area, there is no revenue village," a wildlife officer said. Wildlife officials said one of the primary benefits of Debrigarh getting tiger reserve status is strengthening biodiversity and better carbon sequestration. "The other benefits are boost to the local economy of three districts by increasing employment prospects and the inflow of foreign exchange through increase in tourists, apart from other advantages," the officer added. Sources said seven tiger reserves in India have a core area below 300 sq km, but Debrigarh has 353 sq km. Considering Debrigarh positioning itself at an advantage in terms of water sources and prey density, NTCA recommended prey supplementation (translocation) that can, in the long run, help sustain big cats. Officials said the state govt will conduct gram sabhas in 54 buffer villages for the declaration of Debrigarh Tiger Reserve . Debrigarh authorities said the sanctuary bears a unique distinction as it is located at the junction of central and eastern India forests, with three sanctuaries — Achanakmar and Udanti in Chhattisgarh and Kanha in Madhya Pradesh — having contiguity with each other. Kawal Tiger Reserve in Telangana also has contiguity with Debrigarh. In Odisha, Satkosia Tiger Reserve and Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary are also connected. Debrigarh authorities have relocated 445 families from the core area, making it inviolate.
New Indian Express
02-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Odisha makes critical changes to state wildlife protection rules to bolster enforcement
Amid challenges of poor conviction rate in forest and wildlife related offences, the state government has amended the existing Wildlife (Protection) (Odisha) Rules - 1974, introducing critical changes to enhance the enforcement of wildlife laws and ensure swift action against offenders. The amended rules now include at least 10 new standardised forms for investigation of offences related to wildlife crimes and are designed to streamline documentation and follow-up procedures for forest and wildlife authorities. Among the newly introduced forms are a seizure list, carcass details, search warrant form, and an offence list — tools that will help in systematically recording and tracking wildlife crime cases. Sources in the Forest, Environment and Climate Change department said despite stress on proper management of forest and wildlife resources, the conviction rate in forest-related offences including wildlife crimes in the state have been low for years. While thousands of arrests were made in connection with poaching, electrocution, seizure of wildlife articles, theft of timber, sandalwood and forest vehicles among other offences between 2019 and 2023, the conviction rate in these cases till last year, as per the department statistics, is less than 1%. The department data suggests that at least 414 wildlife articles, 3,251 cubic metre (cum) of timber, 1,977 quintal of kendu leaf, 32 quintals of sandalwood and around 300 cum of stones and boulders were seized in the state between 2019 and 2023. Theft of around 260 forest vehicles were reported in this period. Though the forest department lodged FIRs against 6,348 people in connection with these crimes, only 18 of them have been convicted, while 44 acquitted as of mid-2024. Forest officials admitted that the absence of standardised forms was leading to several challenges in the investigation and prosecution of wildlife offence cases, including inconsistent documentation across divisions and ranges, affecting the quality and credibility of case records; incomplete or informal evidence recording, weakening the legal standing of offence reports in courts; lack of uniformity in seizure procedures and suspect interrogation, creating procedural loopholes; and limited admissibility of irregularly prepared documents in judicial proceedings. 'The newly notified Wildlife (Protection)Amendment Rules - 2025 marks a key step towards strengthening wildlife law enforcement in the state,' said PCCF Wildlife and Chief Wildlife Warden Prem Kumar Jha. Jha said with the introduction of Rule 49-B and standardised forms 26 to 35 for offence investigation, the process becomes more transparent, accountable and efficient. 'This will ensure better protection of wildlife and swift action against offenders,' he said. Forest officials said that the amendments that align with the objectives of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 are expected to plug existing gaps and ensure better accountability. Citing an example, they said the seizure list form — containing details such as date, time and place of seizure, particular of the property seized, name and address of the accused, their signature, circumstances of seizure and signature of the witnesses — will provide a uniform structure to document items confiscated during enforcement actions, helping to avoid data loss or discrepancies. Similarly, the carcass details form containing information such as species name and category, place of seizure, description and position of the carcass, injuries found, materials or weapons found near the carcass etc will aid in the scientific documentation of dead animals, supporting investigations into poaching or unnatural deaths, while the offence report will allow authorities to clearly record the nature of the offence, names of suspects, and legal provisions invoked, facilitating more effective prosecution. The fresh changes also include a form of warrant to search a suspected place of deposit. All these provisions will facilitate improved legal robustness of case files, ensuring better conviction rates in courts. The changes will also help in enhancing coordination with police and forensic/scientific agencies and reducing chances of tampering or procedural lapses.
