Will the birds
be a hindrance to airplanes?
By Dinesh
Kamath
NAVI MUMBAI: The area of the futuristic
Navi Mumbai airport falls 9.5 km from the Karnala sanctuary's border. Will the
birds of this sanctuary prove to be a hindrance to airplanes that will operate
from the proposed Navi Mumbai airport. An effort is being made to get the
national wildlife board declare the 1-km periphery of the 12-square km
sanctuary as eco-sensitive. This will be enough to ensure clearance to the airport
in Panvel. The airport has already received environmental clearance with riders
such as management of mangroves, natural sources of water and birds.
Since 70 hectares of the total 2,000 hectares of
airport area falls within the 10-km periphery of the bird sanctuary, the state
and national wildlife boards' permission was being taken. In fact, the
clearance is being sought as per Supreme Court (SC) guidelines which state that
in the absence of a demarcation in the sanctuary, the 10-km periphery must be considered
an eco-sensitive zone.
The state wildlife board, headed by the chief
minister, recently discussed eco-sensitive zones for forest areas, including
Karnala. The committee's report will be forwarded to the national board for
final clearance.
The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) is
studying the Karnala Sanctuary to suggest management of bird habitat during and
after construction of the airport. A part of the report suggests the need for
protection to water bodies and grass in certain pockets, besides management of
debris and stray dogs, to avoid obstructions to birds.
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