Meeting with local stakeholders held to prepare zonal master plan for ESZ around MTR

Forest and Revenue departments in The Nilgiris held consultation meetings with local stakeholders on Friday and Saturday (July 10 and July 11) as part of preparing the zonal master plan for the notified Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR)

According to officials, the Union government had notified an area extending between 0 and 33.65 km around the boundary of MTR as an eco-sensitive zone, with a total area of 438.904 sq. km of Gudalur forest division and 409.825 sq. km of Nilgiris forest division and 3.422 sq. km of the MTR core area falling within the notified ESZ.

A zonal master plan is to be prepared in consultation with local people as part of the process, and a meeting was planned with Adivasis, farmers, resort owners and vehicle safari operators.

“As a follow-up to the ESZ notification for the MTR issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on December 13, 2019, consultation meetings were conducted with all stakeholders as part of the process of preparing the Zonal Master Plan,” a press release from the Forest Department said.

The consultations were organised by the Forest Department and the Sigur Nature Trust. Farmers and Adivasi communities were consulted at Chokkanalli community hall on Friday, and vehicle safari operators and resort owners were consulted at the Theppakadu conference hall on Saturday.

“The opinions and suggestions expressed by the stakeholders ... were duly recorded, and the minutes of the meetings have been taken up for consideration during the preparation of the zonal master plan,” the press release added.