Maharashtra to have 12 new conservation reserves and two sanctuaries

Maharashtra will have 12 new conservation reserves with an area covering 692.74 sq km and two new sanctuaries with an area of 298.61 sq km, the Chief Minister's Office said on Monday.

A decision regarding this was taken in the 18th State Wildlife Board meeting headed by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Of the 12 new conservation reserves, two are in Dhule Chivatbavri (66.04 sq km) and Alaldari (100.56 sq km).

Four are in Nashik --- Kalwan (84.12 sq km), Muragad (42.87 sq km), Trimbakeshwar (96.97 sq km) and Igatpuri (88.489 sq km).

Raigad has two reserves --- Raigad (47.62 sq km) and Roha (27.30 sq km). Others are Pune (Bhor - 28.44 sq km) Satara (Dare Khurd - 1.07 sq km), Kolhapur (Masai Pathar - 5.34 sq km), and Nagpur (103.92 sq km). Ten wildlife areas have been marked as endangered.

Thackeray said rehabilitation in forest areas must be done by taking people involved into confidence.

He said a holistic view must be taken before any decision is taken regarding the development of the forest area. Currently, there are 15 conservation reserves in Maharashtra of which approval to eight reserves was given in the last two years.