India, Nov. 15 -- Former forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has an unusual request for the state government. The BJP MLA from Ballarshah in Chandrapur district, Mungantiwar has urged the chief minister to denotify the Kanhalgaon Wildlife Sanctuary, which was given sanctuary status in 2020.

The sanctuary, which covers 31,000 hectares in Chandrapur, is not only an eco-sensitive landscape; it lies within a tiger corridor that connects the Tadoba-Andhari reserve and other tiger habitats. According to government data, it is home to 22 tigers.

Mungantiwar claims a sanctuary would potentially intensify the human-animal conflict in the region. Additionally, it could displace forest-dwellers, whose lives and livelihoods would be disrupted, he ar...