Covid-19 to take toll on wildlife, all forestry ops

Nagpur: The Covid-19 pandemic is not only affecting humans, but also wildlife and forestry operations as the planned budget of the forest department has been drastically cut from sanctioned outlay of Rs1,648 crore to Rs544 crore, that is almost 67%, for 2020-21.
On May 4, Maharashtra government had asked all the departments to curtail their sanctioned budgets to 33% in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
G Saiprakash, PCCF for budget, planning & development, confirmed that the department had sought Rs2,900 crore under all schemes, but only Rs1,648 crore were sanctioned. “As per state directions, it has now been curtailed to Rs544 crore. It will give a big blow to forestry operations and wildlife schemes. We have, however, sought an additional Rs190 crore to cope with the situation,” he said.
Due to the curtailment, budget of several schemes has been brought to zero. For development of Gorewada rescue centre, the sanctioned outlay was Rs50 crore, but it has been brought to zero. The centre is crying for space as all its cages are overflowing with rescued wild animals.
Similarly, for rehabilitation of villages from protected areas, sanctioned outlay of Rs58 crore has been brought to zero, which means no village can be relocated this year. The funds under ‘Project Tiger’ have been reduced from Rs60.5 crore to Rs50 crore.
Wildlife crisis will further deepen as budget for iconic Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Jan Van Scheme, which looks after the welfare of communities around reserves, has been reduced to Rs10 crore from Rs75 crore.
According to senior officials, pandemic financial crisis will cost dear to plantations taken up under 50 crore green mission by erstwhile BJP government. It will also affect fire protection works and wildlife habitats.
“The meagre budget will be insufficient to maintain 33 crore, 13 crore & 4 crore plantations done in last three years on which crores of rupees were spent. Besides, other routine plantation works will also be affected. The department will be unable to carry out fire lines and pay wages to watchmen and fire-watchers,” said officials.
“Even as there is backlog of over Rs30 crore towards cattle and human kills and crop damage compensation, funds have been cut and moreover the overdraft system has been withdrawn for such cases. This will lead to resentment among locals, especially when man-animal conflict is on the rise,” they said.
The budget of joint forest management (JFM), all types of plantations and nursery schemes has been cut from already sanctioned Rs1,145 crore to Rs404 crore.
The ecotourism budget has also been reduced from Rs30 crore to Rs1 crore, which will result in non-completion of ongoing works started in 2019-20.
Money to all academies has also been slashed. “The forest academy in Chandrapur built by spending over Rs100 crore will get Rs2 crore from the Rs10 crore sanctioned earlier. With this, the academy will be a non-starter. Similarly, Kundal Academy budget has been reduced from Rs5 crore to Rs3 crore,” said officials.
Budget of institutes like Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board (MSBB) has also been cut to Rs1.5 crore from Rs10 crore; Maharashtra Zoo Authority (MZA) from Rs1 crore to Rs60 lakh; Maharashtra Eco-tourism Development Board (METDB) from Rs1 crore to Rs70 lakh; and Maharashtra Bamboo Development Board (MBDB) from Rs5 crore to Rs3 crore.
Coronavirus Effect
Scheme | Outlay | Reduced
Fire-fighting 9.7 | 3
Wildlife Habitat 16 | 8
Bamboo Mission 32 | 6
Project Tiger 60.50 | 50
Eco-task Force 10 | 0
Buildings 20 | 0
JFM 50 | 18
Afforestation 350 | 200
Gardens 7 | 4
SFD plantations 692 | 150
Green Army 2 | 0
(Figures in rupee crore)