SAIHA, Mizoram (Maraland Today) - The Project Director of District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Saiha district of Mizoram government has requested Chief Executive Member (CEM) of Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC) to cancel the executive order allowing the resettlement of Tokalo (Tongkalong) village near the catchment area of Pala Tipo, also known as Pala Lake (English) and Palak Dil (Mizo), the biggest lake in Mizoram state.
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| Photo of Pala Tipo aka Palak Dil, the biggest lake in Mizoram. Picture courtesy of Samrakshan blog |
Tokalo village council had requested MADC to allow them to resettle near the lake due to scarcity of water in the current location of the village.
In this regard, Pu N. Chakhai, the project director had sent a letter to MADC CEM Pu S. Khipo to cancel the executive order and protect he bio-diversity of the lake.
The content of the letter is posted below:
No. A.11013/15/85 (BRGF)-DRDA(S)
OFFICE OF THE PROJECT DIRECTOR
DISTRICT RURAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
SAIHA DISTRICT: SAIHA
Dated Saiha, the 5th March, 2012
To,
Hon’ble Chief Executive Member,
Mara Autonomous District Council, Siaha
Subj: Review of permission given to Tongkalong’s village council for new settlement within
catchment area of Pala Tipo & a vision for conservation of Pala Tipo bio-diversity.
Sir,
Your executive decision on the resettlement of Tongkalong village is likely to pose a serious threat to the Pala Tipo (Pala Lake) and its rich eco-systems, if not cancelled, because the site selected for the new village is located within the catchment area of the lake.
Saiha district is known both at the national and international levels never for its quality elites or local products but only for its own nature’s gift which is ‘Pala Tipo’. The Pala Tipo was already included in “Potential & Existing RAMSAR sites in India”, a book released by Vice President of India in 2008.
Potential RAMSAR sites are identified objectively under IBA (Important Bird Areas Programme) and BI (Birdlife International) taking into consideration IBA and RAMSAR criteria mainly based on their bio-diversity values. Even more than the size of Pala Tipo, it is its rich bio-diversity component that makes the lake valuable, attractive and popular. Many of the Indian lakes including Rih Dil of Myanmar are popular only due to their sheer sizes but have no bio-diversity values unlike Pala Tipo which has both the advantages.
A survey of Palak wetland area by Datta-Py et.al. (2007) recorded the presence of 136 species of bird (avifauna) and 42 species of mammals in the forest adjoining the Pala Tipo. Some more species of bird are thought to remain unrecorded and therefore unaccounted at the time of the survey. This is an incredible number of bird species ever found in a forest area of non-vegetarian society for whom hunting of animals and bird has been a passion for hundreds of years.
Chilka Lake, India’s biggest inland lake and the second largest coastal lagoon in the World, which comprises a vast catchment area of 3, 560 square kms, hosts around 160 species of bird, that is, only in the peak migratory season. But unlike Pala Tipo, no mammals except aquatic animals are anywhere to be seen in the forests surrounding the Lake. Pala Tipo wetland covers a total area of 15 sq. kms only but has an awesome number of 136 species of bird. No doubt it has the potential to become one of the richest bio-diversity lakes of the world if MADC has a strong political will to put in place a landmark legislation backed up by a strong institutional mechanism to shift all villages falling within a radius of 10 kms (Phura excluded) from the lake to some other sites or villages. A little step forward may enable Pala Tipo to outpace even the world famous Chilka Lake in the diversity of plant and animal life in a particular habitat.
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| Endangered Species found recently in the Pala Tipo, Palak Dil, the biggest lake in Mizoram |
2. When the existing Miepu or Tongkalong road via Pala Tipo has been a hurdle in the wildlife conservation of Pala wetland area, the road alignment of Phura-Miepu PMGSY road is also equally a cause for concern because it has to crisscross an expanse connecting Pala Tipo watershed area with large swathes of forest lying towards Laki and Myanmar which have been a secure Gateway for migratory birds and mammals entering Pala forest enclave from across the International Border for hundreds of years.
Area survey of Pala Lake has confirmed the presence of many rare, endangered, threatened and vulnerable species like Western Hoolock Gibbon, Phayer’s Leaf Monkey, Moorhen and threatened darter, vulnerable elephant, etc. These species were seen moving freely and peacefully within an enclave of Pala forest reserve till recently. A little more degradation of the catchment area can be a big existential threat for these species and the biodiversity of the lake itself. The Lake Forest area has also been a natural habitat of animals and birds since times immemorial. But now a part of this vast forest enclave, lying in the mouth of the upper catchment area, was already destroyed for human resettlement which is likely to create a dangerous tool for perpetual degradation of the entire forest resources and the subsequent loss of many precious living species in the coming days. I do fear that these activities take full shape and protection of these species comes late from MADC as happened to Indian Cheetah which was last seen in 1948 from the entire soil of India.
Sir, when resettlement of villages can be a viable option so long as there is willingness of villagers combined with financial supports from the government, resettlement or replacement of Pala Tipo will never be possible because geography cannot be changed or shifted elsewhere of human choice even with the investment of billions of dollar. Since a little more degradation of the catchment area can be a terrible death knell for the lake, we must do whatever we can to protect and conserve this precious wetland area of the lake. The health of any lake depends on the health of its catchment area and hydrological sources feeding it. Almost all India lakes, big or small, have good hydrological sources. For example, a part from direct precipitation or tropical monsoon climate, Chilka Lake has 54 rivers flowing into it which sustain its bio-diversity over millions of years.
Similarly, a beautiful Dal Lake is fed by Dachigam-Telbal Nallah (with perennial flow) which flows from the mighty Jhelum River and two more channels like Dal Gate and Nallah Amir. But Pala Tipo has no such natural hydrological system to constantly sustain the hydrology of the lake except a little Pala Chavah which is more of a stream rather than a river because it is almost completely dried up during summer. Deforestation around the source of ‘Tipo Chavah’ will stop water inflow into Pala Tipo and wipe out the Lake from the geographical map of India. If this kind of worst scenario is permitted to happen to Pala Tipo due to mistaken policies, it may amount to denial of huge eco-tourism-related benefits for posterity and generation after generations of Maraland will feel it hard to forget the irrecoverable loss.
When the Pala Chavah starts drying up due to loss of hydrological source and human pressure, the lake water will be getting increasingly salty due to the absence of fresh water inflow which will result in the ultimate extinction of aquatic life in the water including fish, crabs, etc. Even Aral Lake, the world’s fourth largest inland lake, has lost more than 90% of its original size due to water diversion and human pressure which can also happen anytime to Pala Tipo unless we are so protective of the vast forest area enclosing the lake.
3. Unlike most Indian Lakes, there are no river sources nearby from which water can be diverted into Pala Tipo either through laying of GI pipe, construction of channel irrigation or other engineering techniques to increase the lake water level. The persistent preservation of the existing meagre hydrological resources of the lake through strict prohibition of encroachment/degradation of the catchment areas is the only way by which a citizen can do justice to the lake and its environment.
A speculative suggestion for pumping of the lake water for human consumption is being propounded from time to time to solve the water woe of the people. But in view of continuous encroachment and degradation of the forests happening at regular intervals even within the Pala wetland areas due to human settlement and agriculture activities, diversion of the lake water for human consumption will be disastrous because the lake will be getting dried up rapidly recoiling not only upon the aquatic environment but also on the entire bio-diversity of the lake. Moreover, diesel operated turbine engine is the critical component of such a project which will produce rasping or thundering noise in the catchment areas scaring off birds and animals which are important components of the rich bio-diversity of the lake.
The new site for resettlement of Tongkalong is none better in the availability of water source than the present site of the village because Khirytikhao (the acclaimed water source), from which proponents of new settlement are hoping to get water supply to the new site, starts drying up by every second week of February each year. This small water source will permanently dry up soon after people have started settling in the new site due to deforestation, degradation of forest, and unavoidable soil erosion, etc. Only Saly Chavah (river) and Isah Chavah (River), the two perennial water sources located far below the new site of resettlement, have the potential to supply sufficient water to the village but only through pumping of water with a costly financial expenditure. When the new site can neither solve the water woe of the village, it can easily harm the lake and its rich bio-diversity due to its location and closer proximity to the lake.
The village community of Tongkalong have to shift to the new village site along with their cattle and other livestock soon. Most domestic herbivore population graze in the forest. Grazing causes soil compaction and extensive damage to the forest plantations and new regenerations. This far exceeds the carrying capacity of the forests and is one of the major factors for degradation of forests especially near habitations. Pala Tipo is located within the full grazing range of domestic animals from the new village site. The new resettlement will cause irrecoverable and permanent damage not only to Pala Tipo and the adjoining forests but also to its entire biodiversity.
Some of the important lakes of the world like Lake Balkhas, Drih, Hamount, Manchar and Aral Lake (Asia); Lake Chad, Nakvale, and in the Eastern Rift Valley Area, e.g. Nakuru (Africa), Lake Chapala, Mono Lake (North America) are decreasing dramatically in size and volume and are facing problems of a serious over-abstraction in water regimes due to deforestation, water diversion, water pumping, etc. Pala Tipo may face the same fate sooner or later after the resettlement of Tongkalong village takes practical shape due to the same reasons.
4. According to scientists, manure used as a fertilizer in agriculture, common household practices, i.e. cosmetics, detergents, toiletries, etc. and wastes of pharmaceuticals including painkillers, tranquilizers, anti-depressants, anti-biotics, birth control pills, estrogens replacement therapies, chemotherapy agents, anti-seizure medications, etc. are leaching into low-lying local streams, rivers and lakes having serious and fatal effects on human health and aquatic environment. So, one of our concerns is also about the potential health impact of contaminants on the aquatic environment in view of the catchment area of the lake having been selected and permitted as the site of resettlement.
Anthropogenic (human) pressure in the catchment area will result in the increased silk flows or silting of the lake on account of increased soil erosion as a result of expansion of the village, agriculture areas, deforestation which will paralyse the lake basin and directly or indirectly affect its flora and fauna. In fact, infrastructure development, housing pressure and encroachments have resulted in converting lakes into hyper eutrophic state. Most lakes have vanished under this pressure. In the lakes, which have survived, the water level has been substantially reduced or flood absorption capacity impaired, bio-diversity threatened as happened in the Osmansagar and Himayatsagar Lakes in Andra Pardesh and Udaipur Lake in Rajasthan, Nanital Lakes in Uttaranchal. Last experiences have clearly shown that the main cause of continued degradation of Pala Tipo has been public apathy, absence of public awareness, and government indifference. Since Pala Tipo constitutes a habitat for a variety of birds, fishes and other aquatic life, we must not allow these things to happen to the lake and its valuable bio-diversity.
According to some informed senior citizens, Pala Tipo has witnessed, in the last one decade, a gradual shrinking of surface water level due to degradation of forest. MADC may double its efforts to protect the lake eco-system with all its genetic diversity before it is too late.
Sir, protection and improvement of natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, wildlife and other living creatures is also the constitutional duty of MADC and every citizen of the district. Article 48 of the Constitution of India specifies that “the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and the wildlife of the country” and Article 51-A states that “it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, wildlife and to have passion for living creatures”.
MADC may do extra efforts to ensure that the necessary information on the importance of the protection of the lake eco-systems reaches out not only to the policy makers but also to the common people living around the Pala Tipo through awareness campaigns or a series of trainings and also through dropping of information leaflets in these areas.
Information makes anything impossible possible. It is also requested that MADC may think beyond Pala Tipo and take necessary action to put the entire notified areas of Pala wetland under direct coverage of Tongkalong Forest Sanctuary through building a strong institutional mechanism and thereby a political consensus across party lines in order to restore the lake to its original pristine condition.
5. MADC may also promote research and development studies on flora and fauna in order to assess and map high biodiversity value areas so that long term threats can be minimized through a better information base for informing the developmental planners. Construction or maintenance activities like roads, view-points, rest shed, etc. within the catchment areas should not be promoted nor permitted unless based on the report of such studies in order to keep the lake eco-systems well protected.
Forest Department of MADC may open separate website exclusively for Pala Tipo or MADC Forest Department Website in which separate bloc may be made for regular updates of what are happening to the ecosystem of Pala Tipo and the efforts of MADC to protect the rich bio-diversity of the lake.
Since ecological richness of the Pala Tipo is of great value in preserving the genetic diversity because of the multiplicity of its habitat, flora and fauna, catchment area treatment may be taken up through plantation and afforestation in the whole ecosystem approach.
Since resettlement of villages is a very complex and politically sensitive issue, Mara Autonomous District Council may entrust all responsibilities of resettlement, in the interest of public services, with the district administration under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner, Saiha whereby pooling of financial resources of different departments through convergence of Schemes will be made easily possible for the establishment of critical infrastructures of the new villages. Then the responsibility of soliciting or getting the co-operation of the affected villages will be borne by the District Administration in case there is a political consensus.
Many challenges facing MADC in the protection & management of Pala Tipo which require professional ideas (of ecologists and lake specialists) are:-
1) Dredging and desilting of the lake and aquatic weed controls as done in Dal and Nakina Lakes, Sukna Lake, Ropar Lake and Renuka Lake, etc.
2) Deweeding/hyacinth control or removal (biological, chemical, mechanical and manual measures, bio-composting) as done in Lktak, Bhoj Wetlands, Harike, and Kanjli Lake.
3) Bio-remediation (Clean up with bio-products-natural bacteria breakdown, and aerators to churn the lakes) as done in the Powai Lake in Ooty, and Kodaikanal Lake in Tamil Nadu and Marik Lake West Bengal.
4) Introducing composite fish culture/lavivorous fish species to control mosquitoes as done in Sasthamkotta Lake, Ashtamudi Lake, etc.
5) Exploring lake water supplementation through searching for more river mouth or through supply of water using large-sized GI pipes.
6). Therefore, MADC may not allow itself to be overburdened with opening up a new village site of Tongkalong in such area where there is no more water only to increase the water woe of the people of Tongkalong. Rather, it may buy more time to persuade and convince the people to move to some other better site for their own interest.
Pala Tipo has not attracted the number of eco-tourists it deserved due to the absence of all-weather roads. But things were already starting to change due to road connectivity. Pala Tipo will cease to be a secluded picnic spot soon and will freely open to eco-tourists, picnickers, other visitors, etc. after the completion of Latawh-Phura PMGSY road. When visitors can bring a lot of economic benefits for the villages around the lake, they can be either disturbance or existential threats to the rich bio-diversity of flora and fauna if not regulated properly as already happened in the past to high altitude lakes of Tsomari, Pongso, Dal, etc.
Since Pala Tipo is the true face of MADC, the District Council may continue to do whatever it can to protect the ecology of the lake and the forest sanctuary. Soon after the completion of Phura-Miepu PMGSY road, MADC may close down the existing roads passing through the lake at Miepu and Tongkalong installing temporary forest check-gates (with forest duty from 5:00 AM to 8:30 PM) in order to check illegal entry into the lake and take up a pet project of plantation on the existing roads to permanently block human access to the lake from the two existing entry points. Single entry point is suggested because it guarantees a safer and more secure environment for the bio-diversity of flora and fauna than multiple entry points.
To generate revenue for MADC, let there be a single Entry Pass Counter in the office of MADC Forest Ranger at Phura to issue ‘entry pass’ to tourists, picnickers, other visitors where list of ‘Do & Don’t’ may be clearly written in three languages, i.e. Mara, English and Mizo for compliance by the visitors.
After the commissioning of New Latawh-Phura PMGSY Road for traffic, MADC may be extremely careful to ensure that an upsurge in the number of tourists or picnickers does not vitiate the quietude of the eco-system of the lake and of the surrounding forest area. Noise control mechanism may also be put in place with the deployment of forest-guard. Vehicular Parking space should be constructed at a suitable site opposite to forest teak plantation from which no vehicle should be allowed to proceed to the lake. Masonry footpath may bring each visitor up to the best suitable site from which viewers can best enjoy the beauty of aquatic environment and serenity that emanates from the lake.
Erection of multiple view-points or structures within the catchment area is not recommended to keep the noise level under proper control. As clearly indicated above, what makes Pala Tipo most valuable and popular in relation to other important lakes is not the sheer size of the lake but its high level of bio-diversity. There are hundreds of lakes bigger in size than Pala Tipo across the country. Therefore, we should never allow noise pollution to get birds and animals scared of human presence in the lake. Any noise emitting machines including motorized boats should never be allowed to be operated in Pala Tipo.
Sir, it is also requested that any proposals for the development of Pala Tipo may never be entertained unless they are authenticated or certified by ecologists and lake specialists. Because past actions in the name of development have been disastrous. For example, during 1980s, Fishery Department introduced the African cichlid fish and common carp in Pala Tipo, resulting in the complete extinction of the original fish species, about which little is known. Also during the 1980s, the Agriculture Department reclaimed the swamps surrounding the lake for wet paddy cultivation, which contributed greatly to the extinction of the area’s elephant population.
But MADC may continue to get heavily involved in large scale plantation of evergreen trees in the entire degraded areas of the reserved forest and even beyond through its versatile Forest Department and also continue patrolling Pala Tipo to check and see that the area is free of illegal hunters and fishermen and there are no unlawful visitors from each road corridor. If some Department or agency wants to get involved in the
restoration and development of the lake, it may first consult lake specialists or engage any of the reputed Technical Support Institutes (TSI) based at Delhi to get the Action Plan duly prepared through a thorough and exhaustive area survey going through the process of a well-defined MAU.
Lastly, for the common benefit and the larger interest of the people of Saiha district and as a symbolic respect to Article 48 and 51-A of the Constitution of India, I do sincerely request you to kindly cancel your executive order permitting a new settlement for the people of Tongkalong in the catchment area of Pala Tipo and accommodate the points mentioned above in the vision for the conservation of the wildlife in the lake and its
surrounding forest areas.
Encl: 1. Photo of decaying Aral lake &
2. Endangered species found in Pala Tipo.
Yours Sincerely,
(N.CHAKHAI)
Project Director,
District Rural Development Agency,
Saiha District: Saiha.
Memo No.A.11013/15/85 (BRGF)-DRDA(S) : Dated Saiha, the 5th March, 2012
Copy to:
1. PS to Minister i/c PHE/Tourism, etc. for kind information and necessary action.
2. PA to Secretary, RD Department, Govt of Mizoram for information.
3. PA to Deputy Commissioner, Saiha for information.
4. PS to chairman, MADC, Siaha for information and necessary action.
5. President, MDCC (I), Siaha for information & necessary action.
6. PS to E.M. (LADC/Education/ Forest/Revenue/PWD/PHE), MADC, Siaha for
information & necessary action.
7. DCF, Forest Department, MADC, Siaha for information & necessary action.
8. President, MTP Hqtrs, Siaha for necessary information.
(N.CHAKHAI)
Project Director,
District Rural Development Agency,
Saiha District: Saiha.
>> Link to the Original
letter of DRDA Project Director to MADC CEM (PDF file)
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| Aral lake, the world's 4th largest inland lake is now only 10% of its original size due to human pressure and boats are lying on the dried lake waterbed. |
