State Wildlife Board Meeting held in Doon
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 12 Jun: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed the Forest Department to prioritise conservation while actively integrating forest resources with local livelihoods. Chairing the 21st State Wildlife Board meeting at the Secretariat here, today, he emphasised the need to maintain a balance between ecology and economy, calling for formulation of a detailed 10- year perspective plan to boost eco-tourism across forested areas. He also stressed on the implementation of a digital tracking system to facilitate swift compensation in cases of human-wildlife conflicts, alongside preventive measures to reduce such incidents.
During the meeting, Dhami also instructed the officials to accelerate the construction of the Zoo and Safari in Haldwani and ensure forest rest houses generate revenue by upgrading them with tourist-friendly facilities. He also called for expediting the renovation of Chaurasi Kutiya and enhancing conservation efforts. For this, he specifically recommended a joint meeting between the Forest and Finance Departments to explore ways of connecting forest resources with economic development. Additionally, he urged special measures for the preservation of Mahseer fish, recognising its ecological significance.
A total of 25 decisions concerning forest land transfers and other regulatory matters within a 10 km radius of protected areas were approved during the State Wildlife Board and will now be forwarded to the National Wildlife Board for clearance. The Board also granted in principle approval for the operation of the Rudranath Yatra route through Eco-Development Committees (EDC) and the establishment of a Mini Transit Treatment Centre within the Kedarnath Wildlife Division in Gopeshwar.
On this occasion, the officials briefed the CM on significant developments, noting that the National Wildlife Board has approved 22 major projects in Uttarakhand since the previous meeting. They reported 75,000 monkeys have been sterilised over the last three years, with a fresh target of 40,000 sterilisations across 27 forest divisions set for this year. Forest Department officials confirmed that, per the Chief Minister’s directives, Divisional Forest Officers are now arriving at human-wildlife conflict sites, ensuring immediate compensation disbursement. It was further stated that an amount of over Rs 19.55 crores was distributed as compensation in the Financial Year 2024-25 and four new eco-tourism zones were launched in 2024.
Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal reiterated Uttarakhand’s importance as a biodiversity hotspot and called for sustained efforts to utilise forest resources efficiently while linking them to local economic opportunities. He also stressed on the need to develop new eco-tourism destinations, enhancing Uttarakhand’s reputation as a sustainable travel hub.
Also present at the meeting were MLAs Banshidhar Bhagat and Diwan Singh Bisht, Principal Secretary (Forest) RK Sudhanshu, Director General of Police (DGP) Deepam Seth, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and the Head of the Forest Department (HoFF) Dr Dhananjay Mohan, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) RK Mishra, and secretaries BVRC Purushottam and Neeraj Khairwal, along with senior officials from relevant departments.
