111 villages falling within Askot Deer Musk Sanctuary will be removed from the area, and the reserve spread over 600 sq km will be renamed as Askot Wildlife Sanctuary.
The decision was taken on the direction of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, according to a release by the state government.
"Over 54,317 people living in these 111 villages will be rehabilitated," the release said.
The notice to demarcate Askot Musk Deer Sanctuary was first issued in 1986.
However, the boundaries were not specified and the reserve forest was joined by the town of Askot along Munsyari tensil and few parts of Didihat Tensil. The 111 villages came within the sanctuary.
Problems started to crop up due to the merger as the government and forest department put restrictions on illegal forestry activities, which reportedly halted the development of the adjoining areas.
According to the release, the step to remove the villages from the perimeter of the sanctuary would also help in speeding up development of nearby areas.
