‘Set Up Separate Wildlife Dept at Centre’

CHANDIGARH: Haryana minister of state for forests and tourism Kiran Choudhary on Monday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to set up a separate wildlife department at Centre and declare the area around all the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries as reserved area. Choudhary conveyed this to the prime minister during her meeting with him at New Delhi. In a request letter handed over to the prime minister, Choudhary insisted that the move of reserving the area around national parks would ensure safety of wildlife.

“Such provisions like eco sensitive zones are not there even in Kanha National Park. And the Central government had prepared a scheme in 2007 for setting up eco sensitive zones. No notification had been issued in this regard till date,” she added. Choudhary said deforestation around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries was posing a serious threat to wildlife. Moreover, non-declaration of these areas as reserved was also the violation of government directions.

Urging the prime minister to set up the wildlife department separately, she demanded for the appointment of secretary and other officers in it. Choudhary also apprised Manmohan Singh of the problem of salaries of IFS officers. Many anomalies could arise in the salaries of these officers in the proposed recommendation of Sixth Pay Commission which had to be averted, she said asserting that the IFS officers were the backbone of the forest department.

Choudhary also requested the prime minister to set up a new airport at Bhiwani. She said a request in this regard had already been made to Union aviation minister Prafful Patel on February 11, 2006. Under the new policy recently announced by Central government, an airport at Bhiwani could be set up. Besides the airport, a cargo hub of aviation department could also be set up there. Bhiwani, she said, was located in the middle of Haryana adjoining Rajasthan and hence, the setting up of an airport in this area would benefit the people of Haryana as well as Rajasthan.

She said Dr Manmohan Singh had given assurance of appropriate action on all the issues raised by her.

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