News Analysis India

Tag: Tiger reserve

  • ‘New Kumbhalgarh tiger reserve in Rajasthan to displace indigenous tribes’

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The ‘in-principal’ approval given to declare the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS)  in Rajasthan as a tiger reserve has triggered a controversy.

    The Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the fringes of the Aravalli mountain range and is home to indigenous tribes like Bhil, Garasia and the nomadic Raika pastoralists, who are against the idea of declaring it as a tiger reserve as they fear displacement. Moreover, there is no documented history of the tiger population in the Kumbhalgarh forest.

    India’s apex tiger conservation body, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), has declared two more tiger reserves in Rajasthan. It has taken the total tally of the country’s tiger reserve to 55. It gave final approval to Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve, besides the ‘in-principal’ approval to KWS as a tiger reserve. 

    “It is a big day in the tiger conservation efforts in Rajasthan’s history,” Shikhar Agarwal, additional chief secretary of the department of environment, forest and climate change, told this newspaper.   

    He said that the ‘in-principal’ approval of the Kumbhalgarh tiger reserve means that a committee will soon be formed and assess the requirements of the reserve to make it suitable for the wild cats. Union minister of environment, forest and climate change Bhupendra Yadav has also appreciated the move to declare KWS as a tiger reserve.

    In a social media post, Yadav said that it will boost employment opportunities for the region’s people through ecotourism.

    However, experts say that there is no documented history of the presence of tigers in Kumbhalgarh.“How can we have a tiger reserve where no tigers exist and there are no connectivity corridors to other tiger reserves?” said Meenal Tatpati, a forest rights lawyer who prepared a report on the violation of laws and processes in experimenting with the tiger conservation model in KWS. 

    “It would be detrimental in terms of tribal displacement and loss of the community’s livelihood,” she said. “Last year, they passed a village council resolution against the idea of declaring the forest as a tiger reserve and submitted a memorandum to the Rajasthan chief minister, environment and forest minister and district collector,” said Jagdish Paliwal, a local activist working with these communities. 

    KWS is known for Indian wolves, four-horned antelope and leopards, but has never been part of any tiger corridor. The forest supports farms and livestock of 162 villages located inside and outside KWS.    

    Incidentally, Diya Kumari, Member of Parliament from Rajsamand, belongs to Kumbhalgarh region.

    She is also a member of NTCA and has been pushing the case of declaring the Kumbhalgarh forest as a tiger reserve to create employment opportunities through ecotourism.  

    ‘No tigers at kumbhalgarh’

    List of Tiger reserves in Rajasthan

      Mukandra Hills Tiger Reserve
      Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve 
      Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
      Sariska Tiger Reserve
    Newly approved

      Dhoulpur-Karauli tiger reserve 
      Kumbhalgarh tiger reserve (in-principal approval)
    Controversy around Kumbhalgarh

      Home to indigenous people: Bhil, Garasia, Raika pastoralists
      Threat to displacement of 20 tribal villages located inside KWS
      Not much prey to support tiger population
      No recent documented history of the presence of tigers
      Two roads pass through, which may cause human-wildlife conflict

    NEW DELHI: The ‘in-principal’ approval given to declare the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS)  in Rajasthan as a tiger reserve has triggered a controversy.

    The Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the fringes of the Aravalli mountain range and is home to indigenous tribes like Bhil, Garasia and the nomadic Raika pastoralists, who are against the idea of declaring it as a tiger reserve as they fear displacement. Moreover, there is no documented history of the tiger population in the Kumbhalgarh forest.

    India’s apex tiger conservation body, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), has declared two more tiger reserves in Rajasthan. It has taken the total tally of the country’s tiger reserve to 55. It gave final approval to Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve, besides the ‘in-principal’ approval to KWS as a tiger reserve. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “It is a big day in the tiger conservation efforts in Rajasthan’s history,” Shikhar Agarwal, additional chief secretary of the department of environment, forest and climate change, told this newspaper.   

    He said that the ‘in-principal’ approval of the Kumbhalgarh tiger reserve means that a committee will soon be formed and assess the requirements of the reserve to make it suitable for the wild cats. Union minister of environment, forest and climate change Bhupendra Yadav has also appreciated the move to declare KWS as a tiger reserve.

    In a social media post, Yadav said that it will boost employment opportunities for the region’s people through ecotourism.

    However, experts say that there is no documented history of the presence of tigers in Kumbhalgarh.
    “How can we have a tiger reserve where no tigers exist and there are no connectivity corridors to other tiger reserves?” said Meenal Tatpati, a forest rights lawyer who prepared a report on the violation of laws and processes in experimenting with the tiger conservation model in KWS. 

    “It would be detrimental in terms of tribal displacement and loss of the community’s livelihood,” she said. “Last year, they passed a village council resolution against the idea of declaring the forest as a tiger reserve and submitted a memorandum to the Rajasthan chief minister, environment and forest minister and district collector,” said Jagdish Paliwal, a local activist working with these communities. 

    KWS is known for Indian wolves, four-horned antelope and leopards, but has never been part of any tiger corridor. The forest supports farms and livestock of 162 villages located inside and outside KWS.    

    Incidentally, Diya Kumari, Member of Parliament from Rajsamand, belongs to Kumbhalgarh region.

    She is also a member of NTCA and has been pushing the case of declaring the Kumbhalgarh forest as a tiger reserve to create employment opportunities through ecotourism.  

    ‘No tigers at kumbhalgarh’

    List of Tiger reserves in Rajasthan

      Mukandra Hills Tiger Reserve
      Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve 
      Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
      Sariska Tiger Reserve
    Newly approved

      Dhoulpur-Karauli tiger reserve 
      Kumbhalgarh tiger reserve (in-principal approval)
    Controversy around Kumbhalgarh

      Home to indigenous people: Bhil, Garasia, Raika pastoralists
      Threat to displacement of 20 tribal villages located inside KWS
      Not much prey to support tiger population
      No recent documented history of the presence of tigers
      Two roads pass through, which may cause human-wildlife conflict

  • Logging at tiger reserve: Wood-based industries in Arunachal district sealed

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: The forest department of Changlang in Arunachal Pradesh has sealed all wood-based industries in the district, which shares a border with Myanmar, days after rampant logging by the smugglers was detected at the 1,982 sqkm Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve.

    The action follows a report by this newspaper on an approximately 20km kutcha road, which the smugglers built in and around Namdapha to ferry logs using trucks after trees were lopped off.It was learnt Arunachal Principal Chief Conservator of Forests N Tam was camping at Miao in the district. He could not be reached over the phone.

    In an interim action taken report submitted to the Chief Conservator of Forests, Southern Arunachal Circle, Deomali, on the illegal felling of trees in Namdapha and adjoining Miao Reserve Forest, the DFO of Nampong Forest Division S Mossang wrote that checking and inspection of the entire illegality-affected areas was being carried out since March 15.

    “During the course, a large quantity of illegal timber, dumped at scattered locations, has been detected,” Mossang further wrote. He said as a precautionary measure and to facilitate proper checking and investigation of the matter, the operations of all wood-based industries under Namphai Forest Range had been “suspended and sealed” and all relevant records/registers were taken under custody.

    A committee has been also constituted to check and investigate the wood-based industries. Official sources said all wood-based industries in the entire district had been sealed. The forest department lodged an FIR in Miao and requested the police to probe the cases of large-scale illegalities, including encroachment, and book the culprits as per law.

    Earlier, eight people were arrested. Two others – the alleged kingpins of timber smuggling – are absconding though.A joint team of the forest department and the district administration had on Tuesday detected the road built by the smugglers and the rampant smuggling of timber inside Namdapha.

    GUWAHATI: The forest department of Changlang in Arunachal Pradesh has sealed all wood-based industries in the district, which shares a border with Myanmar, days after rampant logging by the smugglers was detected at the 1,982 sqkm Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve.

    The action follows a report by this newspaper on an approximately 20km kutcha road, which the smugglers built in and around Namdapha to ferry logs using trucks after trees were lopped off.It was learnt Arunachal Principal Chief Conservator of Forests N Tam was camping at Miao in the district. He could not be reached over the phone.

    In an interim action taken report submitted to the Chief Conservator of Forests, Southern Arunachal Circle, Deomali, on the illegal felling of trees in Namdapha and adjoining Miao Reserve Forest, the DFO of Nampong Forest Division S Mossang wrote that checking and inspection of the entire illegality-affected areas was being carried out since March 15.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “During the course, a large quantity of illegal timber, dumped at scattered locations, has been detected,” Mossang further wrote. He said as a precautionary measure and to facilitate proper checking and investigation of the matter, the operations of all wood-based industries under Namphai Forest Range had been “suspended and sealed” and all relevant records/registers were taken under custody.

    A committee has been also constituted to check and investigate the wood-based industries. Official sources said all wood-based industries in the entire district had been sealed. The forest department lodged an FIR in Miao and requested the police to probe the cases of large-scale illegalities, including encroachment, and book the culprits as per law.

    Earlier, eight people were arrested. Two others – the alleged kingpins of timber smuggling – are absconding though.A joint team of the forest department and the district administration had on Tuesday detected the road built by the smugglers and the rampant smuggling of timber inside Namdapha.

  • SC stays Jim Corbett National Park decision to allow private buses in core area of Tiger reserve

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Thursday stayed an order of Jim Corbett National Park allowing buses of a private operator to ply within the core area of the Tiger reserve in Uttarakhand.

    A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian issued notice to the Centre, Uttarakhand, National Tiger Conservation Authority, National Board of Wildlife and officials of Jim Corbett National Park and sought their responses.

    Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, who filed the petition, told the bench that the decision of the Jim Corbett National Park was in violation of Wildlife Protection Act.

    He alleged that forest officials of the State in order to provide wrongful gain to a private sector company has allowed them to ply their private buses within the core area of the Tiger reserve.

    Bansal contended that as per provisions of Wildlife Protection Act is required to be kept as inviolate area for the purpose of tiger conservation.

    “It is respectfully submitted that Director, Corbett Tiger Reserve vide its Office Order dated December 23, 2020 has allowed buses of a private sector company to ply within the core area of Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand”, his plea said.

    He said that director of Jim Corbett National Park, while allowing private buses to ply within the core area of the tiger reserve, respondent number-7 (director of Jim Corbett National Park) has not only violated the law of land but has also compromised with the safety, protection and conservation of the national animal “Tiger”.

    “It is respectfully submitted that Section 38 (O) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 provides that Tiger Reserves shall not be diverted for ecologically unsustainable uses, and in case it is required, than it is mandatory for State of Uttarakhand and its Forest Department officials to do the same only after taking approval from National Board for Wildlife and on the advice of National Tiger Conservation Authority,” the plea said.

    Bansal claimed that in the present case neither the forests officials has taken any approval from National Board for Wildlife nor have taken any advice from National Tiger Conservation Authority.

    “It is also important to mention here that recently Wildlife Institute of India also conducted an assessment study wherein it is mentioned that the area in question is home for 19 Tiger’s family”, he claimed, adding that plying of buses in the core area is nothing but an act of compromise with the protection and conservation of the national animal.

    Bansal sought quashing of the order of the director of the national park.