A few months ago, a proposal to construct an airport at Jharkhand was pushed back, with concerns over disturbing an elephant corridor.



The true distinction made between saving what's important and reconsidering something that could destroy a possible habitat, made us believe in the sanctimonious hope that we're all looking for, currently.

But a few days ago, all hope came crashing down when we learnt that the Jharkhand state government, in an elaborate plan, clandestinely wiped three wildlife sanctuaries off its records in the iron ore-rich West Singbhum district.

While efforts in wildlife conservation are ongoing, there is a strong network of imbalance that strengthens the stagnation attached with environmental concerns in our country. F

or years on end, the tribals of the state of Jharkhand have been waging a long battle, to stop all mining activities in the mineral-rich state, as they are adversely affected the surroundings, livelihood and the environment drastically. Unfortunately, for the state of Jharkhand, the ruling government has chosen to support corporate interests over tribal concerns, over the last few decades.

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While we're focussing on other ongoing tragedies in the country and across the globe, the government's pre-emptive yet swift action to destroy three wildlife sanctuaries years ago, while displacing the habituated wildlife has had an underwhelming response from the community or has not been talked about incessantly by anyone to make this an issue of grave concern.



Currently, Asangda- Buru in Saranda forest division, Bamiaburu in Kolhan forest division and Songra or Tebo in Porahat division have been wiped off to prolong iron-ore mining in these regions.

However, our true focus remains on how this plan to completely destroy habitats that once supported a flourishing flora and fauna, was so meticulously executed, that one really had to go through a dozen records to even figure out that the forest cover actually existed over 55 years ago.

The sanctuaries were mentioned in a report which was prepared by a now-defunct Indian Board for Wildlife (IBWL), in November 1965, a delegation of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. While we're not sure what ethical or unethical practices were put in place to ensure the safety of the wildlife displaced, we do know the previously vast reservoir is now a hollow piece of land, which benefits India through the abundant iron-ore reserves.

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The report that was prepared, initially, mentioned that Bihar (undivided), had seven protected areas-two national parks and five sanctuaries. Fortunately, this information also features in the Indian Forest Records: Glossary of terms used in nature conservation and wild life management, published by the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in 1970.



The book, which was written by P Venkataramany mentioned that the Songra sanctuary was created in 1932, the remaining two were created in 1936, but two out of the three sanctuaries disappeared, when the Wildlife Protection Act was drafted in 1972.

“The Act says sanctuaries notified before its promulgation will be deemed to be sanctuaries,” M Ranjitsinh, a retired government official who also happened to be one of the key authors of the act, stated in an interview with Down To Earth, a reputed environmental magazine.

Even after the mention of the sanctuaries in the book, none of the prevalent government documents published after 1972, mentioned Bamiaburu or Songra sanctuaries. In fact, the information for these sanctuaries is so ambiguous, that even experts can't predict their accurate location.

“If they are not there anymore, then it is a clear case of obfuscation,” says MK Ranjitsinh added.

In this case though, experts state that acquiring land for mining activities would have been difficult if the government wouldn't have eliminated the three sanctuaries present there. This explains why the Sardana landscape (where the sanctuaries existed) was severely mutilated and destroyed, even though several government documents did talk about how this particular piece of land shouldn't be harmed in any way. Even historically, the Sardana mines have been the livelihood for towns like Bokaro in Jharkhand and Rourkela in Odisha.

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Mining practices in India have been in a constant continuum to prolong economic gains, and local tribes around these mining belts have either been displaced or used as workers to work in these mines, risking their safety and their health.



Clearing land or evacuating it for mining resources has been under India's tally of accountable environmental issues that we currently face, and we only hope either these practices are further curtailed or done a bit more judiciously, to conserve whatever land we may have left for India's flora and fauna.

While land titles have been taken away and the government has acted on will to deconstruct tribal and animal land and use it to strengthen economic gains, we truly hope conservation efforts balance out the yin-yang situation here and steps are taken to further safeguard our remaining natural forest reserves around the country.

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