Dhar (Madhya Pradesh): Around 216 square kilometres of land of the Kharmor Sanctuary, located in Sardarpur tehsil of Dhar district has been returned to farmers. The Kharmor Sanctuary will now cover only 132 square kilometres.

The move will bring relief to farmers of 14 villages of Sardarpur and many villages of Petlawad, Jhabua district, as land owners will now be able to buy and sell land or use it for other purposes. As part of the sanctuary, the farmers could only use their land for farming. The demand for denotification intensified as the number of Kharmor sightings (Lesser Florican) has gone down over the years.

Forest Department issued an order on Friday, converting about 216 square kilometres of 348.12 square kilometre sanctuary area into revenue land.

The sanctuary was originally established on June 4, 1983, covering about 348.12 square kilometres in Sardarpur area of Dhar district. It was created following ornithologist Salim Ali's recommendation which was followed by the Forest Department.

Since the sanctuary's creation, farmers faced major problems as their land could not be bought or sold. This restriction caused continuous trouble for villagers and became an important election issue for the Sardarpur assembly constituency.

Minister Savitri raised this issue in Parliament in 2014. She worked with various forest ministers and chief ministers over the years. Recently, she met CM Mohan Yadav and Union Forest Minister Bhupendra Yadav to resolve this long-standing problem.

Local BJP leaders and affected villagers have expressed gratitude to Minister Savitri for her persistent efforts in providing relief to farming communities.