JAIPUR: A day after Congress chief Sonia Gandhi declared environment as the main national concern, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday received yet another letter from environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh asking Gehlot to immediately close 32 operational mines within one km periphery of the core/critical tiger habitat of Sariska Tiger Reserve.
The letter finishes with a strong hand-written note to the CM: ''This is my third letter to you on this subject.'' It urges immediate action to notify the buffer zone of Sariska Tiger Reserve. According to a 2006 notification, the 881 sq km area clubbing the core and the buffer zone around Sariska was meant for ecologically sustainable land use. It aimed to provide habitat for the tiger population and other wild animals, besides foster co-existence between wildlife and human activity.
''Considering that Sariska has been revived at a great cost with the active collaboration between the state and the Centre, the state government's apathetic approach in checking mining could jeopardise the efforts to rehabilitate tigers,'' said Jairam.
