Forest Minister Ishwar B. Khandre said on Monday that weed growth has affected the movement of wild animals in three national parks in the State and the government is removing it and ensuring the area is converted into grassland.
Replying to a question by BJP member Tejaswini Gowda in the Legislative Council during Question Hour, Mr. Khandre said weed has spread to an extent of 20% to 50% area in the jurisdiction of Bandipur, Nagarahole, and Bannerghatta National Parks.
Weed has covered 40% to 50% area (87,224 hectares) of Bandipur Tiger Reserve, 30% to 40% area (64,339 hectares) of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, and 20% to 25% area (26,051 hectares) under Bannerghatta National Park, he said.
The types of weed include Lantana Camara, Senna Spectabilis, Chromolaena Odorata, and Mikania Micrantha. “About ₹87,000 is required for removing weed from one hectare area,” Mr. Khandre said.
He said the Forest Department is removing weed as part of managing national parks. He said that ₹781 crore is required for managing Bandipur Tiger Reserve by removing weed and converting the area into grassland. As much as ₹259.48 crore was needed for Nagarahole Tiger Reserve and ₹150 crore for Bannerghatta National Park.
Replying to another question on man-animal conflict, Mr. Khandre said the government has formed 33 Rapid Response Teams covering Hassan and Kodagu districts to chase wild elephants back to forest area. In all, 95 teams have been constituted in Karnataka to chase wild animals back to forest area, he said.
