The Centre has notified areas around two wildlife sanctuaries -- Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Pranahita in Telangana -- as Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs)
In a latest notification, the Envirnoment Ministry has declared an area ranging from 0.1 kilometer to 5 kilometer from the boundary of Pranahita (blackbuck) Wildlife Sanctuary in Telangana as ESZs.
In the case of Dadra and Nagar Haveli Wildlife Sanctuary, the Ministry has declared an area of up to 100 metres from the boundary of the protected area of the sanctuary as ESZ.
The separate notifications have been issued as per the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
The eco-sensitive zone around the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Wildlife Sanctuary is spread over an area of 26.57 square kilometer and there are 36 villages, the notification added.
In the eco-sensitive zones of these two sanctuaries, the Ministry has prohibited all types of mining, stone quarrying, crushing units, setting up of new hydroelectricity projects, establishment of new or expansion of existing polluting industries.
New construction of hotels and resorts will not be allowed within the ESZ at Dadra and Nagar Haveli Wildlife Sanctuary. But it would be allowed within one kilometer of the boundary of the Pranahita Wildlife Sanctuary.
"No use of tribal land shall be permitted for commercial or industrial related development activities without the prior approval of the Union Territory Administration...
"....And without compliance of the provisions of the law for the time being in force, including the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006," the notification said about the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Wildlife Sanctuary.
Pranahita (Blackbuck) Wildlife Sanctuary, established in 1980, is one of the oldest protected areas of Telangana and is an ideal 'blackbuck habitat' with scrub jungle and mixed deciduous vegetation and scattered grasslands.
The Dadra and Nagar Haveli Wildlife Sanctuary is spread across an area of 91.39 square kilometers and forms an important watershed area for Daman Ganga river.
