Gargai Dam: Civic body throws tribals under the bus

Will the removal of anthropogenic interferencemdashsuch as farming hunting practices a highway etcmdashand building a dam at the spot instead help improve and enrich a habitat The BMC certainly thinks so The BMC in reply to the objections raised by National Board of Wildlife NBWL to the Gargai Dam project has made such shocking claims The project that will submerge more than four lakh trees is back in the news as the ShindeFadnavis government wants to pursue it It had been halted due to the proposed destruction of trees by the Uddhav Thackeray ledMVA governmentThe BMC replied on January 29 2021 to the objections raised by the Deputy Conservator of Forests DCF ndash Wildlife Thane on a National Board of Wildlife NBWL proposal The BMCrsquos 118pages Interim Confidential Report has been submitted along with the Gargai Dam proposal to Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change MOEFampCC A copy of the same made public recently is in possession of middayWhile talking about anthropogenic caused by humans and their activities interference the BMC in the confidential interim report submitted to the Forest Department stated ldquoThey tribals hunt the animals and birds with bows and arrows or with catapults and consume every animal regardless of the species Sometimes they even eat crows and owls This method of direct persecution is indeed affecting the survival of wild animals in this area We have confirmed that owls and their products are used for witchcraft and gambling However during our interviews none of the tribals accepted that they use owl eggs for gamblingrdquoGargai dam will be spread over 1100 hectares and will affect another 700 hectares PicRanjeet JadhavBMC in the anthropogenic interference paragraph in the report has stated ldquoOwlets are hunted and captured for witch craftrdquo To this the DCF Wildlife has stated ldquoNo such incident has been reported in the sanctuary so far Actually the rich forest of the sanctuary is the cause of occurrence of forest owlet Diversion and degradation of a large patch of forest for the project will negatively affect wildlife and seriously disturb the habitat of the endemic forest owlet Athene blewetti discovered after more than 100 years and listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red ListrdquolsquoRemove human interferencersquoReplying to the DCFrsquos observation BMC stated ldquoIncident of anthropogenic factor of ldquowitchcraftrdquo is reported in lsquoEcological studies of Forest Owlet Heteroglaux blewitti and Athene blewitti Final Report by Principal Investigator Asad R Rahmani and Research Fellow Girish A Jathar of Bombay Natural History Society 2004 on page No 53rsquo The second reference is found in an article titled lsquoThe Critically Endangered Forest Owletrsquo published in December 2008 by Girish A Jathar on Page No 5 This article also provides a photograph of a witch doctor performing rituals in which they use the eggs and certain body parts of the forest owlet Also it is listed as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List since 2018Though the incident quoted therein relates to tribals in Toranmal the risk of occurrence of similar harm cannot be ruled out in Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary Removal of human interference from this habitat is in the best interest of conservation of this endangered species Removal of highway means of communication human population and all anthropogenic stress will also result in vacating 324 hectares of land under cultivation by the inhabitants of the six villages along with their houses domestic animals hunting practices and every other interference Addition of a water body will help in improvement of habitat of avifauna and creation of grasslands will enrich the habitat for amphibians reptiles and rodents A short note on the forest spotted owlet is attached to substantiate how the foraging habitat and feeding ecology of this endangered species will be benefitted refer Appendix lsquoIrsquordquo SICIn the report BMC has also mentioned a short note about the forest spotted owlet Athene Heteroglaux blewitti While talking about degrading specific trees BMC states in the report ldquoTribal communities living in the forest build their houseshuts by using teak and bamboo which they collect from forest area affecting the species directlyrdquoTalking about the use of pesticides and rodenticides BMC states ldquoNowadays tribal people use various kinds of pesticides to protect their crops from pests Almost 73 per cent people use pesticides and rodenticides to protect their crop against various pests Among these 64 per cent use only pesticide and 36 per cent use pesticide as well as rodenticides They use pesticides like DDT BHC endosulfon endrin and rogar and locally available rodenticidesThis can be detrimental for the longterm survival of the forest owlet in this area They hunt the animals and birds with bows and arrows or with catapult and consume every animal regardless of the species Sometimes they even eat crows and owls This method of direct persecution is indeed affecting the survival of wild animals in this area We have confirmed that owls and their products are used for witchcraft and gambling However during our interviews none of the tribals accepted that they use owl eggs for gamblingrdquolsquoNot blaming tribalsrsquoIn reply to a query by midday the BMC sent a clarification about NERIL Naik Environment Research Institute Ltd which on behalf of the civic body replied to the objection raised by the DCF It said ldquoIt is clear that the statements made on behalf of BMC are based on the authentic research paperwork During the interaction of NERIL senior staff with the villagers this finding of the scientists about the use of owlsrsquo body parts and eggs in witch craft was confirmed It must also be noted that the BMC has no intention to blame any set of tribal villages or their indigenous practices The intent is to create a safe and conducive habitat for all the wildlife including this rare and endangered owlrdquolsquoEverything owl at oncersquoTalking about the conservation status of the forest owlet BMC has stated ldquoGiven the increasing number of reports of this species it is likely that the global population size is likely to be gt250 mature individuals and so it is now placed in the range of 250999 mature individuals It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2018 It is threatened by loss and degradation of forests due to illegal logging encroachment by humans and forest fires There is an immediate need to declare this site as protected area or to declare it as a community reserverdquoGargai dam projectThe Gargai dam project was supposed to be complete by 2025 but it was halted due to massive destruction of over 4 lakh trees by the Uddhav Thackeray ledMVA government As per the proposal Gargai dam will be spread over 1100 hectares and will affect another 700 hectares and over 4 lakh trees at Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary In addition residents of 1000 homes will have to be relocated in Palghar The process to move PAP is going on simultaneously with forest and environmental permissionsOnly Rs 35 crore provision was announced for the Rs 4000crore project in the budget for FY 202122 and there was no provision in 202223 and there isnrsquot any separate mention in 202324 budget also A senior BMC official said ldquoThe joint survey for the compensation of land is under process We will need environmental clearance and forest department permission too as it involves Tansa sanctuary The project needs various permissions as well as relocation of residents The work is onrdquoDuring MVArsquos tenure in the state the BMC focussed on the desalination plant at Manori for Rs 3500 crore which includes setup cost of Rs 1600 crore and maintenance of the plant for a period of 20 years at Rs 1900 crore The plant is estimated to supply 200 million litres of water per day MLD at the initial stage which can be increased to 400 MLD laterThe detailed survey report for the desalination plant was submitted to the BMC in November 2022 But the civic body hasnrsquot floated the tenders for the same However if this project is stopped the civic body will have to turn to the Gargai project again In fact the civic body had plans to build three damsmdashGargai 440 MLD Pinjal 865 MLD and DamangangaPinjal River link project 1586 MLD to increase the supply by 2891 MLD by 2050Inputs by Prajakta Kasale