Save-Ananthagiri plan gathers dust

Hyderabad: A proposal aimed at declaring Ananthgiri a conservation reserve forest has been gathering dust since 2014. The forest department and other stakeholders had submitted the proposal the chief wildlife warden. 

P. Srilakshmi, district forest officer, Anantagiri, said, “If the proposal is implemented, then rules will be stringent as conservation reserved is under Section 36 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1974. The proposal should be ratified and implemented by a GO. In order to be a conservation reserve forest, a government order is enough.”

A senior official from the Secretariat, who did not want to be named, said, “The proposal was sent to the government from Aranya Bhavan just a few days back and it is under process. The proposal was prepared at the sub-collectors-level in 2014 but the government received the proposal in the last 20 days. We can expect the upgrade of Ananthagiri within a month.”

The Anantagiri reserve forest is free from encroachments but there is only one threat of losing good forest in enclosure for building hotels and other development activities. The declaration as a conserve reserve forest will help protect the floura and fauna. The area is also known for its medicinal plants, said forest officials. 

The objective is to protect and conserve the only dense forest in Ranga Reddy district. There is a need to protect the catchment area and the origin of the Musi river. The conservation will provide the much-needed lung space for expanding and developing Vikarabad.

Earlier, 368 acres were carved out from the forest land to house the TB sanatorium near the Ananthagiri forest. The sanatorium used 155 acres and 213 acres were allotted to the AP tourism department. This area has a better forest cover. As of now, the status of the land remains the same with flora and fauna and is contiguous to the natural forest of Ananthagiri reserve forest.