SC appointed CEC member visits Bannerghatta National Park over plea against reduction of ESZ

Bengaluru, Jan 2 (PTI) A member of the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee on Friday visited Bannerghatta National Park in connection with a petition challenging the reduction of the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around the protected area.

CEC member Chandra Prakash Goyal visited the park and held meetings with forest department officials to assess the potential ecological impact of the revised ESZ notification.

A senior official from the forest department said that Goyal visited the park, heard concerns of the parties involved who also made presentations before him.

The petition filed by K Belliappa and others in May 2025, contended that the notification reducing the ESZ, excluded ecologically sensitive areas around established elephant corridors, thereby weakening wildlife protection.

It also argued that the application of a uniform one-km ESZ norm for Bannerghatta National Park failed to take into account site-specific ecological requirements.

Speaking to reporters here, CEC member Goyal said this is a very important national park for Karnataka, particularly in the context of Bengaluru, as it lies along one side of the city. Like all national parks, it has an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ).

"There was a petition before the Supreme Court concerning variations between the ESZ notifications issued in 2016 and the final notification published in 2020. The petition contends that the reduction in the ESZ area in the 2020 notification is detrimental to wildlife, especially elephants, and that needs to be looked into," he said.

According to him, the matter has now been referred to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), of which he is a member, to submit a report to the Supreme Court.

"My visit is primarily for compiling data and figures before finalising and submitting the particular report." Responding to a question on the differences between the 2016 and 2020 notifications, he said, "The basic difference is that the width of the buffer zone was reduced from 4.5 km to 1 km, even 100 meters from the boundary of the national park in some portions. It has been reduced." While the earlier notification covered ESZ about 290 square kilometres, the revised notification covers around 168 square kilometres. That is the key difference," he explained.

He further said that according to the petitioners, some ecologically important patches have been left out.

Goyal noted that reports submitted to the SC are prepared strictly based on data and technical details to support the committee’s recommendations.

"The case is scheduled to come up for hearing on January 7, and the report will be submitted before that," he said.

Addressing allegations that the reduction of the ESZ has facilitated the development of several resorts and layouts, including government housing layouts developed by the Karnataka Housing Development Board, he said these claims were mentioned in the briefing. However, it would be important to examine whether such developments took place before or after the 2020 notification, as that would change the nature of the issue.

On land acquisition concerns raised by farmers, who claimed that since 2013 they have been under pressure from the government to surrender their land, claiming a premeditated and organised effort to acquire land adjacent to the forest, he said, “We will look into these allegations. The panel will place its recommendations before the court. The government of Karnataka and the petitioners will also present their views, and we will try our best to ensure the report has sound ecological reasoning,” he said.

He also clarified that mining is banned within one kilometre of any national park or protected area. If any mining activity falls within that limit, it would be for the administration to take appropriate action. PTI AMP ROH