BJP MLA comes out in support of Nandhaur, Chorgaliya residents

Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Naveen Dumka has come out in support of the resident of Nandhaur and Chorgaliya, who are opposing the state government’s proposal to develop Nandhuar Wildlife Sanctuary as tiger reserve.

“I am with the people (of Nandhaur and Chorgaliya) and respect their sentiments, as there is no need for building tiger reserve there,” said Dumka.

Dumka, the MLA from Lalkuan, also pointed out that he would write letters to the forest department and the state wildlife board in this regard soon.

Earlier, the residents of Chorgaliya, which lies in the vicinity of Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary, had called a mahapanchayat, in which they rejected the proposal of Nandhaur Tiger Reserve saying that it would infringe upon their rights over the forests. They said that they would protest the proposal and, if required, move the high court as the last resort.

Their argument is that the 40-plus tigers in Nandhaur are well protected and creation of the tiger reserve would “only lead to unnecessary hassles from the officials”.

The state board for wildlife, headed by chief minister TS Rawat, has given approval to the proposal of developing Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary and Surai range of Terai East as tiger reserves.

Nandhaur, notified as a wildlife sanctuary in 2008, has 45 tigers. The 269 sq km area was proposed for the tiger reserve with an additional 578 sq km of eco-sensitive zone.

Bhuvan Pohkariya, who is spearheading the movement against the proposed tiger reserve, said that the people of Chorgaliya are into agriculture and mainly dependent on forest produce as means of livelihood.

“The making of tiger reserve would lead to problems for locals going inside forests. Also, our lands might be acquired for building the tiger reserve and we do not want to be uprooted from our ancestral lands,” said the activist.