Decision Makers:
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Shri Sudhir Kumar Sharma, IFS
Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Mr. Bhupender Yadav
Demands:
Immediately halt construction and operations of the thermal plant in the biodiverse Marihan forest range
Conduct a comprehensive environmental impact assessment on the plant's long-term effects on the local ecosystem and wildlife.
Designate the Mirzapur forest as a protected conservation area, off-limits to industrial development.
The Mirzapur forest in Uttar Pradesh is a unique and biodiverse ecosystem that is currently under threat of being overtaken for the construction of a proposed thermal power plant.
Environmental activists have flagged large-scale clearing of vegetation using heavy machinery, as well as the construction of roads and other structures, in the forested area adjoining Dadri Khurd in the Marihan Range of the Mirzapur Forest Division. This area was slated to be notified as a forest in 1952, but that never happened, leaving it vulnerable to development under a new law passed last year. The amended Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act of 2023 exempts unrecorded deemed forests from its purview, paving the way for their diversion for infrastructure and other projects.
However, this area is part of a proposed Sloth Bear Conservation Reserve and is a crucial habitat for a wide range of threatened wildlife, including at least 24 terrestrial animals listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act.
The Vindhyan Ecology and Natural History Foundation (VENHF) has documented the exceptional biodiversity of this unique Vindhyan-Kaimoor ecosystem through extensive surveys.
The encroachment poses an immediate threat to a highly biodiverse and ecologically significant forest area, violates environmental laws, and risks irreversible damage to the local ecosystem and its wildlife. Urgent action is needed to halt this encroachment and protect the Mirzapur forest.
The Mirzapur forest is a precious natural treasure that must be safeguarded for future generations. We cannot allow it to be destroyed in the name of industrial progress. Please take immediate action to protect this biodiverse and ecologically significant region by signing this petition.
P.S. Your support is crucial in our efforts to save Mirzapur forest. If you can, please consider making a donation to help us continue our work in protecting this vital ecosystem. Every contribution, no matter the size, strengthens our fight. Donate today!
Sources:
Decision Makers:
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Shri Sudhir Kumar Sharma, IFS
Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Mr. Bhupender Yadav
Demands:
Immediately halt construction and operations of the thermal plant in the biodiverse Marihan forest range
Conduct a comprehensive environmental impact assessment on the plant's long-term effects on the local ecosystem and wildlife.
Designate the Mirzapur forest as a protected conservation area, off-limits to industrial development.
The Mirzapur forest in Uttar Pradesh is a unique and biodiverse ecosystem that is currently under threat of being overtaken for the construction of a proposed thermal power plant.
Environmental activists have flagged large-scale clearing of vegetation using heavy machinery, as well as the construction of roads and other structures, in the forested area adjoining Dadri Khurd in the Marihan Range of the Mirzapur Forest Division. This area was slated to be notified as a forest in 1952, but that never happened, leaving it vulnerable to development under a new law passed last year. The amended Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act of 2023 exempts unrecorded deemed forests from its purview, paving the way for their diversion for infrastructure and other projects.
However, this area is part of a proposed Sloth Bear Conservation Reserve and is a crucial habitat for a wide range of threatened wildlife, including at least 24 terrestrial animals listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act.
The Vindhyan Ecology and Natural History Foundation (VENHF) has documented the exceptional biodiversity of this unique Vindhyan-Kaimoor ecosystem through extensive surveys.
The encroachment poses an immediate threat to a highly biodiverse and ecologically significant forest area, violates environmental laws, and risks irreversible damage to the local ecosystem and its wildlife. Urgent action is needed to halt this encroachment and protect the Mirzapur forest.
The Mirzapur forest is a precious natural treasure that must be safeguarded for future generations. We cannot allow it to be destroyed in the name of industrial progress. Please take immediate action to protect this biodiverse and ecologically significant region by signing this petition.
P.S. Your support is crucial in our efforts to save Mirzapur forest. If you can, please consider making a donation to help us continue our work in protecting this vital ecosystem. Every contribution, no matter the size, strengthens our fight. Donate today!
Sources: