Pong fields afire, fauna in distress; NGT wants govt panels on board

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, June 2

The National Green Tribunal (NGT), in its order issued two days ago, has directed petitioner MR Sharma, a noted environmentalist in Kangra district, to implead National and State Wetland Committees and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in the case filed by him.

As per information, MR Sharma, who has been flagging the issue of illegal cultivation and other anti-ecology activities in the Pong Wetland Wildlife Sanctuary in the lower Kangra region since 2015, had filed a petition against the government authorities concerned for failing to check these activities despite a ban imposed by the Supreme Court on February 14 in 2000, on all non-forestry activities in wildlife sanctuaries across the country.

After running from pillar to post to stop illegal activities in the wildlife sanctuary, which is also a world famous Ramsar site, the environmentalist, through his advocate, had filed a petition in the NGT on May 14, seeking its direction to the government to protect environment and ecology and stop all ongoing illegal activities in the sanctuary area.

The NGT has directed the petitioner to serve notices upon newly impleaded respondents and also file an affidavit of the service one week before September 17, the next date of hearing in the tribunal. Advocate Adarsh Vashisht, who is pleading the petition of the environmentalist in the NGT, said the new respondents of the petition would be served notices with copies of petitions as per directions of the NGT’s principal bench and the respondents were supposed to file their replies on the next date of hearing (September 17).

The environmentalist has raised concern over the unabated encroachments and unauthorised cultivation in the wildlife sanctuary area by anti-social elements. He also alleged the use of insecticides and pesticides by farmers for the illegally grown crops, posing a threat to the aquatic life on the vast wetland.

Talking to The Tribune, Sharma said the use of combine harvesters and burning stubble was also playing a havoc with flora and fauna. A large number of resident birds and their eggs perished in the fire in the past one week. The cows and bulls grazing on the wildlife sanctuary land are also facing a threat as fields were set on fire by offenders with impunity just for their personal benefits.

“Some species of Siberian and local birds camp in this sanctuary during the breeding season, but the area is being destroyed in fire and severe heat wave. The wildlife authorities have turned a blind eye to the problem,” he lamented.

In 1999, the Union Government had notified the Pong Dam Wetland area, spread over around 300 sq km, as a wildlife sanctuary under the Indian Wildlife Act, 1972.