The Defence Ministry has got the approval of the Central wildlife panel to build infrastructure for troops, ammunition storage and communication networks in eastern Ladakh near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife, on December 21, 2024, cleared several proposals that are aimed at enhancing the capacity of the armed forces.

This move clears the decks for the construction of facilities in the protected areas of Changthang High Altitude Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary and the Karakorum Nubra Shyok Wildlife Sanctuary. The new infrastructure is aimed at speeding up ammunition access and ensure quicker operational deployment, according to the Ministry of Defence.

The meeting, which saw the proposals see the light of the day after remaining pending for a few months, was held under the chairmanship of Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav.

Earmarked land

The armed forces’ expansion plan includes setting up Formation Ammunition Storage Facilities (FASF), underground caverns for housing essential strategic equipment and establishments for personnel to reinforce presence at critical junctures along the border with China.

For any construction activity in wildlife areas, environment clearance is a must to ensure that endangered species of flora and fauna are not disturbed.

Accordingly, the MoD has been asked to not cause any harm to the landscape in the two wildlife sanctuaries and comply with regulations to minimise the project’s impact on local habitats, said government sources.

The land parcels earmarked for defence infrastructure are devoid of trees but fall within declared protected areas, under Section 29 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

This section prohibits the destruction, exploitation, or removal of wildlife in a sanctuary without a permit. Additionally, it prohibits the damaging of the habitat of wild animals or altering the flow of water into or out of the sanctuary.

Fauna in LAC

Both sanctuaries host rare flora and fauna. Changthang High Altitude Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary is home to a plethora of animals like the snow leopard, wild yak, Tibetan wolf, Tibetan argali (a rare subspecies of wild sheep), Tibetan gazelle (a species of antelope ), Tibetan antelopes and numerous exotic bird species.

The Karakorum Nubra Shyok Wildlife Sanctuary too houses species like the Tibetan gazelle, Siberian ibex (a wild relative of goats and sheep), Bharal (blue sheep) and Bactrian camel. The area is also considered as under explored from a botanical point of view.

The need to scale up the capacity at the LAC was felt following the face-off with China in May 2020, at Galwan, in eastern Ladakh. The stand-off, which lasted a little over four years, ended last October and subsequently led to the disengagement of troops to pre-May 2020 position, and resumption of patrolling at friction points. Some issues, however, are yet to be resolved.

So far, the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife has approved 107 proposals, covering 2,967.63 hectares in the Changthang High Altitude Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, and another 64 proposals, covering 24,625.52 hectares in the Karakorum Nubra Shyok Wildlife Sanctuary.