Village commons have become scarcer in developed states such as Telangana, thanks to unbridled, end-to-end expansion of real estate. An unaccounted, uncared for and unintended consequence of such a phenomenon is the loss of wildlife and biodiversity associated with the open lands, which has become a topic for study of late.
Two wildlife enthusiasts, Ch. Pradeep Prazz and Pranay Juvvadi, have been looking for ways to bring an expanse of such wilderness to the notice of the authorities, for conservation and protection.
Realty has already made inroads into the grasslands spread over 2,100 acres amid the Yenkathala, Ramnathgudpalle and Govindapur villages in Mominpet mandal, and Arkathala village of Nawabpet mandal in Vikarabad district.
Ventures are coming up close to it, and roads are being laid through the grass, which is the habitat to a wide variety of fauna.
A proposal has been submitted to the Forest department by the duo for declaring the grasslands along with the surrounding scrub forested hills as a conservation reserve. A proposal has been made also to the Telangana State Biodiversity Board to declare it as a Biodiversity Heritage Site. None has received any response so far, with Forest officials sounding sceptical about the same, as the land belongs to the Revenue department, and is highly valued in terms of real estate.
“Biodiversity is entrenched in popular psyche as something inalienable from forests and greenery, which is not true. Grasslands and what we term as wastelands and rocky, barren lands have their own ecosystems which are often ignored,” says Juvvadi, an ecologist and independent researcher.
A large proportion of Savannah grasslands in India falls outside the Forest department, and hence, unprotected. They have shrunk from 18.8 million hectares in 2005 to 12.3 million hectares in 2015, as per data presented to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification during the 14th Conference of Parties held in Uzbekistan.
While no such estimate exists separately for Telangana State, it is a known phenomenon that the grassland patches which served as common grazing grounds for livestock have come down drastically, owing to successive governments feeding the real estate frenzy through auction of lands across the State.
The proposal by Juvvadi and Prazz says there were wide open grasslands stretching all the way from Moinabad to Manneguda till 2005, of which only a few small patches remain now. Similarly, the grasslands in Zaheerabad have also all but vanished, thanks to projects such as NIMZ (National Investment & Manufacturing Zone).
Of the remaining patches, concentrated especially in Vikarabad, Nalgonda, Sangareddy, Medak, Siddipet, and Nizamabad districts, the largest and most distinct one is at the proposed location, commonly referred to by the duo as Yenkathala Grasslands.
The proposed Conservation Reserve, extending up to 2,100 acres, is mostly rolling landscape, characterised by shallow Deccan basalts with loose rocks, low laterite hills, a large waterbody and dryland agriculture fields.
The grassland is dominated by large clumps of chrysopogon grass species as the top layer and with heteropogon forming the base layer. There are isolated patches with large clumps of Cymbopogon species, Themeda triandra, Apluda mutica, Pennisetum species, Dichanthium species and Cyperus species in areas with more moisture. Trees are very sparse and mostly dominated by acacia and other thorny species, sprinkled with a few others such as Flame of the Forest, Neem, Tangedu and others.
Also home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna, including plants, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, spiders, butterflies and more, the grasslands support a unique diversity of avifauna, and have been the haunt of birders. A total 199 species of birds have been recorded there, the proposal says.
No surveys have been done so far to enumerate the wildlife, but the grasslands are home to quite a few species listed in Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, says the proposal. The duo have counted 100 plant species, 16 mammals, 199 birds, and 17 species each of reptiles and fish.
“The area is home to blackbuck, and predator species such as the Indian Grey Wolf, which is left with a population less than 3,000 individuals countrywide. We spotted at least four families of Indian foxes here,” Mr. Juvvadi shared.
Prazz, who is documenting grasslands, wetlands and other open natural ecosystems, says Telangana could have its first dedicated grassland reserve akin to Karnataka’s Jayamangali Blackbuck Conservation Reserve, Bidar Blackbuck Resort, Rajasthan’s Tal Chappar Sanctuary and Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh.
“We made a representation to the District Forest Officer, Vikarabad, the District Collector, and also the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests in Hyderabad, but have not heard from any of them,” Mr. Prazz, founder of NGOs VWOLFS Foundation and Wild Telangana, said.
Laterite mining, land conversion, plantation drives and unregulated vehicle movement are listed as threats to the grasslands.
Published – June 01, 2024 11:33 am IST
