Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary, popularly known as MM Hills in Karnataka, was declared a tiger reserve by the National Tiger Conservation Authority a year back. However, the Karnataka government is yet to notify the same citing opposition from various quarters. This delay, however, has led to questions being raised on whether there is a political motive behind the delay. According to The Indian Express, activists have alleged that officials are eyeing the forest for various projects that would not be possible if the area is designated a tiger reserve.

Minister for Housing, V Somanna, told The Indian Express that the government has put on hold the notification to declare the sanctuary as a tiger reserve due to various factors that affect its status. One of these is the presence of a temple in the sanctuary, which is visited by thousands of people annually. According to the minister, the people who visit the temple and those residing in the forest would be affected if the sanctuary gets declared a tiger reserve.

The total area of the proposed Tiger Reserve (core + buffer) is 906.18 sq km. Its core area is composed of Mahadeshwara Malai Reserve Forest, Hanur Reserve Forest, Yediyaralli Reserve Forest. The buffer area of the proposed tiger reserve is 235.19 sq km and is composed of Mahadeshwara Malai Reserve Forest and Hanur Reserve Forest.

From becoming a wildlife sanctuary to tiger reserve- Timeline

Rumours about the sanctuary being declared as a tiger reserve were doing the rounds last year. However, the government did not take any immediate action on the issue. V Yedukondalu, who was recently transferred from the forest department, has been pushing for the government to take the necessary steps to make the sanctuary a tiger reserve.

In 2013, the MM Hills was declared a wildlife sanctuary. The proposal to establish a tiger reserve was submitted to the National Tiger Conservation Authority in May 2019. However, the authority rejected the proposal. In 2020, a revised proposal was sent to the agency.

If the Karnataka government notifies MM Hills of a tiger reserve, it will help in the breeding of the tigers, whose numbers have increased over the years. The sanctuary shares its borders with the Biligiriranganatha Tiger Reserve, the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, and the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.

According to Yedukondalu, the presence of tigers in the region has increased due to the various activities that have been carried out in the forest area. The proposed tiger reserve would help in connecting the Eastern and Western Ghats. However, there have been instances of encroachments in the area.

If the MM Hills gets declared a tiger reserve, it will make Chamarajanagar the first district in the country that has three tiger sanctuaries. Currently, the district has two tiger reserves – the Biligiriranganatha Temple and the Bandipur Tiger Reserve.

An official from the forest department stated that the people of the MM Hills will be given grants to relocate to other areas.

What is the real bone of contention?

Joseph Hoover, a wildlife activist, told IE that politicians are allegedly planning a hydel power project in the sanctuary that would not be able to go ahead if it gets declared as a tiger reserve.

He also stated that the main issue is the motive to have commercial projects and power lines passing through the protected area. Although the construction of these facilities has been carried out in the BRT and Bandipur Tiger Reserve, the people of the region are still opposed to the idea of declaring the sanctuary as a tiger reserve. During the time when the state was in the process of implementing the project, the officials had put aside the plans to build power lines and hydel projects through the sanctuary.

The forest department recently recovered six acres of land from a resort owner from Bengaluru, who had illegally sold it to him for Rs 18,21,000. According to B K Singh, a former chief conservator of forest, the state government backed out of its plan to establish a tiger reserve in the Kudremukh National Park in 2011.

It’s not the first time the state has backed out of its plan to establish a tiger reserve in the MM Hills. In 2011, the state proposed the Kudremukh National Park be a tiger reserve. However, the officials then backed out of the project due to the political situation. According to the officials, the politicians are not interested in conserving the forest area’s biodiversity value. They want to develop various projects in the region.

The fight between conservation and development has been going on for a long time now. Due to the global warming phenomenon, the leaders of the world have been urged to focus on the restoration of degraded areas and the creation of space for carbon dioxide. The MM Hills should be declared a tiger reserve as it has various layers of protection.