Maha to seek expert opinion on bird park near proposed airport

Maharashtra government will seek experts' opinion to redefine the area of Karnala bird sanctuary which is marginally overlapping the land alloted for the proposed Navi Mumbai airport.

"The sanctuary space is an eco-sensitive zone, overlapped (by about half-a-kilometre) towards one end of the new airport" which stretches upto a distance of 10 km, state Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan told reporters here on Thursday.

Stating that Karnala sanctuary was located at a distance of 9.5 kms from the airport site, Chavan said the "state government will have to demarcate the 14 sq km area of the bird sanctuary and send a recommendation to the Centre to that effect in order to facilitate the airport work."

Chavan, who was here to attend a forest department meeting, said the state government was taking necessary steps to protect tigers in the reserves in Vidarbha region and claimed that its population was increasing as a result of conservation measures.

He said the forest department was coordinating with state electricity corporation "Mahavitaran" to prevent deaths of tigers due to accidental as well as deliberate snapping of high tension wires by poachers resulting in electrocution of the wild cats.

Two more forest areas, one each in Pune and Yavatmal districts, had been identified by the state government for bird sanctuaries for which necessary recommendations would be sent to the Central Wildlife Board, he added.