According to PV Gangopadhaya, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), Wildlife, Madhya Pradesh, following a recent meeting of forest officials from the two states, the MP forest department sought a formal nod from its government to declare the area a sanctuary.

Gangopadhaya, who was in Gujarat to attend a workshop held recently, met Vadodara division forest officials and briefed them about the proposal to declare a part of Katthiwada area in Jabhua district of MP a wildlife sanctuary.

While Ratanmahals forest area was notified as a sloth bear sanctuary in 1982, some parts of the area adjoining MP could not be declared the same. But after Narmada Development Authority (NDA) sought assistance from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, the area adjoining the Ratanmahals sanctuary was surveyed for its suitability to rehabilitate the wildlife affected by the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP).

Speaking to Express Newsline, Gangopadhaya, said, “After WII’s survey report, we are proposing to declare around 190 sq km of area in Katthiwada, Jabhua district a sanctuary.” He added, “As a compensatory step to the loss made by the SSP to the wild flora and fauna, NDA commissioned WII to survey Katthiwada and Mathwada areas of Jabhua district to find out if the land was fit to be declared a sanctuary.” While WII gave its go ahead for Katthiwada area, Mathwada was not found suitable to be a sanctuary.

“We cannot say the time limit as to when will Katthiwada be declared a sanctuary. Before we prepare to do so, we need to survey the villages in the area since proposing a sanctuary also has many social implications on human life.”

According to MP forest officials, Jabhua is a tribal dominated district located in the western part of the state, having around 645 sq kms forest area. It is surrounded by Panchsmahals and Vadodara districts in Gujarat, while river Narmada forms the southern boundary of the district. The district is devoid of vegetation cover except Katthiwada that receives relatively higher rainfall and is full of hilly areas.