The census report of wildlife in the Tansa sanctuary, located 90 km north of Mumbai, has opened a can of worms on largescale exploitation of forest resources and dwindling wildlife numbers. In a nutshell, the report states that there is only one leopard left in the sanctuary, sprawled across an area three times the size of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
The census was conducted in May by forest officials.
Tansa sanctuary is located in four talukas of Thane district — Jawhar, Wada, Mokhada and Shahpur. It occupies an area of 355 sq km, considerably larger than the 103-sq km Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) that, according to last year’s census reports, is home to 20 leopards.
According to statistics provided by the Forest Department, there were seven leopards in Tansa sanctuary in 2005. The number reduced to five in 2006 and to two last year. The report of this year’s census, conducted in May, has just been released.
“We have submitted the report to a committee of senior forest officials that will first verify the claims in the census report. Apart from pugmarks, the leopards’ droppings, claw marks on the barks of trees barks and the attacks on various animals of prey help us in studying the number,” said Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Satish Fale, who is holding additional charge of the Tansa sanctuary.
“Due to lack of prey in this sanctuary, the leopards could have ventured into adjoining forests which are also dense in nature,” Fale said.
But he admits the sanctuary is plagued with problems, chiefly that of encroachments. As per official records, nearly 1,300 families reside within the sanctuary and occupy an area of about 510 hectares of land. Also, some 110 villages come in direct contact with the sanctuary, meaning they are either within the sanctuary or are located on its periphery.
Such extensive encroachment means felling of trees for firewood and for commercial purposes is rampant. Grazing of cattle, not permitted in notified forests, has further added to the woes of Tansa, leaving little food for herbivorous animals. Forest fires — lit by the encroachers — are another major crisis, say officials. “In fact, all these problems are known to the government. They have all been placed on record. The superiors know about this,” said a senior forest official at the sanctuary. He adds that the sanctuary requires Rs 7.27 lakh a month for various programmes, but rarely gets adequate funds.
“Over the years, the forest around the sanctuary has depleted due to urbanisation. The felling of around more than 1 lakh trees due to the Middle Vaitarna dam project has also been deadly for the wildlife in the region,” said Punam Singavi, Thane’s ‘wildlife warden’ who has been helping the forest department conduct the census in the Tansa, Phansad and Karnala sanctuaries. The Tansa sanctuary includes the catchments areas of the Tansa and Vaitarna rivers which quench Mumbai’s water thirst. Tansa and Vaitarna dams are also located within the same sanctuary.
In the 1990s, when the Forest Department planned to remove encroachments from the forest, its officials had been brutally attacked. In fact, one officer of the rank of a deputy conservator of forest (DCF) was beaten up so badly that his hands were fractured.
“Yes, the census report does state that one leopard has been traced in the Tansa sanctuary. The officers of the Conservators of Forest (CF) rank are compiling the reports. Once that happens I can go through the report and then comment on the issue,” said Chief Conservator of Forest S A Thorat.