Chhattisgarh government is considering extending the area of the proposed Lemru Elephant Reserve (LER) following demands from the activists, who are advocating the inclusion of the total catchment area of the Hasdeo river within the pachyderms’ new habitat.
State forest department officials said Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel would take the final call on it, while exuding optimism that LER’s total area, measuring 1995.48 square kilometres, is likely to be extended.
The government might include in LER the total or a part of the catchment area of Hasdeo river, measuring around 250 sq km, the officials added.
However, the state government is facing a major hurdle because of the presence of four operational mines in the Hasdeo river’s catchment area, which also includes another five allotted mines and 12 coal reserves.
