6 months ago
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The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has recommended 13 defence and paramilitary projects, astir of them successful high-altitude protected areas of Ladakh and 1 successful Arunachal Pradesh, according to the minutes of its 86th meeting.
The proposals, submitted by the Ministry of Defence, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), see caller borderline outposts, a brigade headquarters, ammunition retention and grooming facilities, and span and culvert works.
The committee has approved these projects with strict biology safeguards to support fragile Himalayan ecosystems.
According to the minutes, the committee has recommended the usage of 0.37 hectares of the Eco-Sensitive Zone of the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary successful Arunachal Pradesh for the operation of a 158-metre-long imperishable span connected the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang roadworthy nether Project Vartak.
The country lies wrong a planetary biodiversity hotspot and an important elephant corridor.
The connection was cleared with a mitigation program that includes operation lone during daylight hours, speed-control measures and discarded and sound management.
In Ladakh, respective large defence projects were approved wrong the Changthang Cold Desert and Karakoram (Nubra-Shayok) wildlife sanctuaries.
These see the constitution of a 315 Field Workshop Company astatine Chushul, dispersed implicit 3.7 hectares, to enactment the 142 Infantry Brigade deployed adjacent the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The committee has besides cleared a Formation Ammunition Storage Facility (FASF) astatine Tsogtsalu, covering 24.2 hectares, successful the Changthang Sanctuary.
Another FASF of 47.1 hectares astatine KM-47 successful the Karakoram Sanctuary has besides been recommended.
A 48.6-hectare Training Node Area astatine Tara successful the Changthang Sanctuary, located astir 15,500 feet supra oversea level, was recommended to supply realistic high-altitude tactical grooming for troops.
The committee has besides approved the usage of 40 hectares astatine Chushul for establishing a Brigade Headquarters for the 142 Infantry Brigade, on with related enactment units.
Other projects cleared see an artillery artillery connected 9.46 hectares astatine KM-148 and an Army campy connected 8.16 hectares astatine KM-120 successful the Karakoram Sanctuary.
The committee has besides recommended 3 caller ITBP borderline outposts astatine Quazi Langer, Bopsang Lungpa and KM-156, each dispersed implicit astir 1.62 hectares, and a 0.1-hectare transit detachment astatine KM-80.
A tiny hume tube culvert astatine Mudh, adjacent the Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground, was besides cleared to facilitate question crossed the Indus River.
During discussions, ecologist R. Sukumar advised that defence infrastructure should not beryllium located adjacent to marshes, riverbanks oregon constrictive valleys prone to flash floods and avalanches.
The committee noted his suggestions and directed that these beryllium incorporated into mitigation plans.
The sheet said that portion these projects are captious for nationalist security, their implementation indispensable guarantee minimal ecological disturbance successful the delicate Himalayan landscape.
