A decision by the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court to direct the Goa government to set up a tiger sanctuary in the Western Ghats region has evoked mixed reactions and set off a debate on its implications for Karnataka’s Mahadayi project.
As per the verdict, the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and surrounding areas should be upgraded as a tiger reserve within three months from the date of judgment. It was delivered on July 24 by a bench of Justice Mahesh Sonak and Justice Bharat P Deshpande, on a public interest litigation petition filed by Goa Foundation’s Claude Alvares.
Some environmentalists believe that the judgement, if implemented, will pre-empt the Karnataka government from taking up the Kalasa and Banduri nala projects in the Mahadayi-Malaprabha river basin. But forest and irrigation officers of Karnataka say the order will not stop the projects.
