CEC member to visit Bannerghatta National Park following petition against reduction of buffer zone

A subordinate of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), constituted by the Supreme Court, is expected to sojourn Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) connected January 2, 2026, pursuing a petition against the simplification of Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) astir the nationalist park.

Chandra Prakash Goyal, subordinate of the CEC, volition besides conscionable the authorities officials successful transportation with the petition filed by K. Belliappa and others connected May 2025.

Enclaves wrong elephant corridors

The petition argued that the notification regarding the simplification of the ESZ has excluded ecologically captious areas surrounding established elephant corridors from the ESZ and that the adoption of a one-km ESZ norm for the protected country of the wood ignores site-specific ecological requirements.

The activists pointed retired that the simplification of the ESZ has led to the instauration of enclaves wrong the ESZ, breaching the contiguity of the forest. These enclaves, which are present unprotected onshore patches, person go prone to mining and different commercialized activities, and 5 of them autumn successful elephant corridors, they said.

Legalising ecological violations

It was successful 2018 that a Central authorities notification reduced the BNP’s Eco-Sensitive Zone from 268.9 sq. km to 168.84 sq. km. The activists noted that the width of the buffer portion was reduced from 4.5 km to 1-0.1 km.

“One of the enclaves shows the beingness of a quarry. The simplification has been a mode to legalise ecological violations,” said Kiran Urs, who works with Bannerghatta Nature Conservation Trust.

The activists besides allege that plans are afoot to physique monolithic 2,000-acre layouts successful unprotected areas adjacent the BNP, which would pb to large-scale demolition of biodiversity and accrued human-animal conflict. Shivakumar, a husbandman from the region, said that since 2016, efforts person been connected to get immense swathes of onshore successful the region.

“The efforts to get onshore began adjacent earlier the notification came successful 2018. Almost each the gomalas successful the portion person vanished by now,“ helium said. Other concerns see the ongoing operation of the National Highways Authority of India’s six-lane elevated flyover, portion of the Satellite Town Ring Road project, crossing a 3.85-km agelong crossed the BNP and its buffer zones, and a connection to conception an airdrome adjacent the Bannerghatta-Kanakapura belt.