Fresh mining push in Tumakuru forest raises ecological concerns
The Forest Department has given its consent for diversion of 119.23 acres of forestland in Tumakuru district for mining purpose that will result in axing of nearly 17,200 trees.
The proposed mining project is in Thirtharamapura Reserve Forest, and is spread across Gollarahalli, Hosahalli, Kodihalli, Tonalapura, and Lakmenahalli in Chikkanayakanahalli taluk.
The department, in its letter dated May 14, 2025, recommended for 'moving the proposal' with the Union government for according 'in-principle' approval of diversion of 119.23 acres or 48.20 hectares of forestland.
Incidentally, the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) had conducted a site inspection close to the current location and had turned down two other mining proposals in the past, by different project proponents.
The inspection report carried out by the Deputy Conservator of Forests (Central) in 2017 stated that the area was mined from 1952 to 1998, and the original lease was split to many mining companies by the Department of Mines and Geology in violation of the Forest Conservation Act.
The report also stated that 'currently, the forests are showing regeneration and during the visit there were direct sightings of chital, black-naped hare, while scats of sloth bear and leopard were also seen. The area, the report pointed out, sheltered migratory population of elephants from Bannerghatta National Park to Bhadra between September and December.
The MoEF&CC also stated that the area was the only watershed for the villages surrounding Chikkanayanakahalli, a drought hit area and hence it would be prudent not to divert it for mining, from the watershed point of view and maintained for ecological restoration.
Meanwhile, wildlife conservationist Giridhar Kulkarni has raised alarm over the Forest Department's decision to allow fresh mining in the ecologically sensitive forest areas of Tumakuru district, despite prior rejections of similar proposals by the MoEF&CC.
Mr. Kulkarni, in a letter dated June 6, 2025, has appealed to Additional Chief Secretary (Forest, Ecology, and Environment) Anjum Parwez to reject the proposal seeking diversion of forestland for mining on the grounds that the area was rich in wildlife, acts as a critical watershed, and has already suffered from ecologically damaging mining practices in the past.
He pointed out that the MoEF&CC inspection report has flagged the potential impact on waterbodies and recommended against any further mining. He warned that if approved, mining will further escalate human-wildlife conflict and undermine the ecological restoration under way in the region.
Underlining the imperatives of rejecting the proposal, Mr. Kulkarni said the project will also have a negative bearing on the livelihood of the local communities in and around Chikkanayakanahalli. This is in addition to escalation of human-animal conflict, he added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Thousands participate in International Yoga Day celebrations in Kittur Karnataka
Thousands of people from different age groups took part in the International Yoga Day celebrations across various districts of Kittur Karnataka by performing various asanas on Saturday. District administrations along with AYUSH departments, various organisations, educational institutions had organised programmes at stadiums, open spaces, halls, and atop big buildings as part of the day. Programmes were held even in prisons and on the Hubballi airport premises. Participating in the programme at UNESCO heritage site Pattadakal in Bagalkot district, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi termed yogasanas a good exercise for spiritual, physical, and mental health. 'It not only strengthens our body, mind and inner strength but also has the objective of establishing harmony across the universe,' he said, adding that yoga was contributing a great deal in making the 21st century the 'century of Bharat'. At the programme at the district stadium in Dharwad, Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Divya Prabhu G.R.J. termed yoga the biggest contribution of India to the world. 'If man's body and nation is peaceful, then the whole universe will be peaceful. The meaning of the word yoga is uniting our body and mind. Yoga means uniting everyone,' she said. At the programme held in association with Isha Foundation at sub jail in Hubballi, along with inmates of the prison, Shahabuddin Kalekhan Superintendent of Prisons, and the jail staff performed yogasanas. Elaborating on the significance of the day, Mr. Shahabuddin briefed about various reformative programmes being held for the inmates regularly. At the Hubballi airport, director Rupesh Kumar and other staff members took part in the celebrations. In the programme held in coordination with 'Kshamatha Samsthe' and 'Dhanyosmi Yoga Kendra' in Hubbali, hundreds of people took part. Convener Govind Joshi, MLA Mahesh Tenginakai elaborated on the significance of Yoga Day. In districts In Belagavi, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Haveri, Gadag, and Uttara Kannada, district-level programmes were held.
Hans India
15 hours ago
- Hans India
25,000 tribal students perform Surya Namaskaram
Visakhapatnam: IT and Education Minister Nara Lokesh announced that the State government has already decided to organise yoga once a week in all schools after June 21 and will implement it. Speaking on the occasion of 25,000 students performing Surya Namaskaram at the Andhra University Engineering College Grounds on Friday to achieve a record, Lokesh said that it's one of the proud moments. Lokesh mentioned that the entire country and world is looking towards Visakhapatnam which is hosting the record-breaking event in the world of history. As many as 25,000 tribal students of Alluri Sitarama Raju district performed Surya Namaskaram in 15 minutes, creating a Guinness World Record. The Minister stated that he was surprised to see the commitment and perseverance of the tribal students. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give him an opportunity to organise International Yoga Day in Visakhapatnam so that it would be done in a historical manner, the Minister said. Lokesh informed that 5 lakh people would participate in 'Yogandhra-2025' and create a Guinness World Record. 'Yoga is not just about Asanas but is a way of life. It teaches discipline to all of us. When I was of your age, Nara Chandrababu Naidu used to do yoga with me,' the Education Minister recalled, addressing the students. Further, he congratulated ASR District Collector Dinesh Kumar for making the students practice yoga meticulously for the past one year. 'The Prime Minister loves Andhra Pradesh and Visakhapatnam very much. He is coming to the city for the second time in a year. Achieving Guinness Book of World Records through largest participation in yoga is a gift to be presented to the Prime Minister,' Lokesh said. Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of State for Ayush Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav mentioned that tribal students who grew up in the forests of Andhra Pradesh have created a record with great effort and coordination. He said that if children in urban areas were asked to do 10 Surya Namaskar for 10 minutes, 9 of them would fail. He attributed the lack of physical exercise, eating habits and mobile addiction to this. He hoped that these students would set more records in future. Among others Tribal Affairs Minister Gummadi Sandhya Rani, Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav and MP CM Ramesh participated.
Time of India
20 hours ago
- Time of India
Gurgaon tops school edu rankings, but its south Hry neighbours are at bottom
Gurgaon: Infrastructure, quality and standards of education were highest in Gurgaon's schools among all Haryana districts in 2022-23 and 2023-24, according to the central govt's Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The report, released by the Union education ministry on Friday, showed that Gurgaon scored 354 out of 600 points in 2023–24, improving from 346 in 2022–23 – both in the Prachesta 1 (51-60%) category in educational outcomes. On the other end, Nuh (259) and Palwal (295) districts scored the lowest in the state, placing them in the Prachesta 2 (41-50%) category. The 2022–23 report, also released on Friday, reflected a similar trend, with Gurgaon leading and five districts — Nuh, Fatehabad, Palwal, Sirsa and Ambala — falling into the lower-performing Prachesta 2 grouping. Under PGI, assessment is made for each district out of 600 points divided into six broad categories – outcomes, effective classroom transaction, infrastructure facilities & student entitlements, school safety & child protection, digital learning and governance process. These categories have 11 separate domains, including learning outcomes and quality, access outcomes (AO), teacher availability, attendance monitoring systems, etc. Based on cumulative points, each district is given grades – the highest being 'Utkarsh' (for scoring over 90% of total points), and the lowest, Akanshi-3 (up to 10%). According to the Haryana education department, Gurgaon scored well in overall outcome, classroom transaction, infrastructure and facilities, and digital learning. A Tired of too many ads? go ad free now senior education department official said rankings are avoided in the report. "The ultimate objective of PGI is to help the districts priorities areas for intervention in school education and improve to reach the highest grade," he said. PGI, which assesses both govt and private schools, was first released in 2017. It was later revamped as PGI 2.0 in 2021.
