A sanctuary turned death trap: Turtles flee poisoned waters of Kajalheri
A century-old village pond in Kajalheri, Fatehabad district, Haryana, long conserved by the local Bishnoi community for its turtle population, is facing a pollution crisis as untreated wastewater and drain runoff flow into it.
Turtles, including Indian softshell turtles and red-crowned roofed turtles, have been driven to abandon the pond in search of cleaner water as pollution levels rise.
The pond forms part of the Guru Gorakhnath Community Reserve, notified in 2019, but management committees meant to implement conservation measures reportedly remained largely unformed for years after notification.
Local residents and activists have flagged the pollution and sought remedial action, including separation of wastewater and rainwater drainage into the pond.
Community Reserves under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
A Community Reserve is one of the categories of protected areas introduced into Indian wildlife law to allow community and private land to be conserved for wildlife without the state acquiring ownership, unlike national parks and wildlife sanctuaries which involve government-controlled land.
Key Details
- Community Reserves were introduced by the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002, inserting Section 36-C into the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- Under Section 36-C, the state government may declare any private or community land as a Community Reserve if the community or individuals concerned volunteer to conserve wildlife and its habitat, and the reserve is managed by a Community Reserve Management Committee.
- Unlike national parks and sanctuaries, Community Reserves do not require the government to acquire rights over the land; existing land use by local communities generally continues.
- The Kajalheri pond area was notified as the Guru Gorakhnath Community Reserve under Section 36-C in May 2019.
The Kajalheri pond illustrates both the promise and the governance gap of the Community Reserve model — genuine grassroots conservation (by the Bishnoi community) predating formal law, followed by state notification, but undermined when the statutorily mandated management committee is not effectively constituted or functional.
Schedule I Protection under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 lists species accorded the highest level of statutory protection in India, with the most stringent penalties for hunting, poaching, or trade — the same tier of protection given to species such as the tiger and the rhinoceros.
Key Details
- Both the Indian softshell turtle (Nilssonia gangetica) and the red-crowned roofed turtle (Batagur kachuga) are listed in Schedule I of the Act.
- Offences against Schedule I species attract among the most severe penalties under the Act, including a minimum imprisonment term (extendable up to seven years) and higher fines than for lower-schedule species.
- The Act was amended in 2022, consolidating the earlier six schedules into four; Schedule I species (the former Schedule I and Part II of the erstwhile Schedule II) continue to receive the highest protection.
The pollution driving these Schedule I turtles out of their habitat effectively defeats the purpose of the highest level of statutory protection, since habitat degradation, not direct poaching, is destroying a population that the law treats as being as significant as a tiger population.
IUCN Red List Status and Freshwater Turtle Conservation in India
The IUCN Red List assesses extinction risk on a scale running from Least Concern through Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, to Extinct in the Wild and Extinct, and is distinct from domestic legal schedules, though the two often align for India's most threatened species.
Key Details
- The red-crowned roofed turtle is assessed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with fewer than 500 adult females estimated to survive in the wild, mostly in the Chambal river system.
- The Indian softshell turtle is assessed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and is also listed under Appendix I of CITES, prohibiting international commercial trade.
- Major threats to India's freshwater turtles include water pollution, sand mining, illegal fishing, and habitat fragmentation — the same pressures reported at Kajalheri.
The turtles fleeing Kajalheri's pond are not merely locally significant; the red-crowned roofed turtle in particular is among India's most globally threatened reptiles, making pollution-driven habitat loss at even a single small wetland ecologically consequential.
- Location: Kajalheri village, Fatehabad district, Haryana; conserved informally by the Bishnoi community for close to a century before formal notification.
- Protected area: Guru Gorakhnath Community Reserve, notified in May 2019 under Section 36-C, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- Species present: Indian softshell turtle (Nilssonia gangetica), red-crowned roofed turtle (Batagur kachuga), and Indian peacock softshell turtle.
- Legal protection: Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (highest protection tier, on par with tiger and rhinoceros).
- IUCN status: red-crowned roofed turtle — Critically Endangered (fewer than 500 adult females estimated in the wild); Indian softshell turtle — Endangered; also CITES Appendix I listed.
- Community Reserves introduced via the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002 (Section 36-C).