TN notifies 68,640 hectares RF as Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday notified the 68,640 hectares Reserve Forest (RF) area in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts as Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary. The aim of announcing the 17th wildlife sanctuary in the State is to conserve the biodiversity of the region, tweeted Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday.

Sharing the announcement, Chief Minister MK Stalin took to his official Twitter handle and tweeted, "I'm happy to announce that the GoTN has notified 'Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary' as the 17th Wildlife Sanctuary in TN. This significant step along with the TN Green Climate Company's missions will go a long way in conserving the rich biodiversity of our State."

The notification has been released following the announcement made by the Tamil Nadu government on April 25 that forest area of 478 sq km in Anchetty, Urigam and Jawalagiri ranges of Hosur division, which are contiguous with the Cauvery South will be declared as a wildlife sanctuary.

Subsequently, the area of the sanctuary currently measuring about 68,640 hectares in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts is a vital elephant habitat in Southern India. The region is also considered critical for the large number of riverine species dependent on Cauvery river.

The sanctuary is also a large, contiguous network of protected areas, enabling uniform legal status and protection along both the banks of the river Cauvery for a 50 km stretch.

Besides this, the landscape maintains further continuity to the Nilgiri biosphere reserve through Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary, Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve in Karnataka, and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve alongwith Erode forest division of Tamil Nadu.

Earlier, the Tamil Nadu government issued a government order (GO) to establish the 17th bird sanctuary in Tamil Nadu at Nanjarayan tank, in Tirupur district, and on October 12, the State Environment, Forest and Climate Change department notified around 12,000 hectares in Karur and Dindigul as a sanctuary for Slender Loris.