Chief Minister Raghubar Das will preside over the State’s maiden Steering Committee for Tiger Conservation Foundation meeting on Thursday in Ranchi. The state government had set up the Steering Committee way back in 2015 but since then no meeting of it was ever held.
MP Singh chief conservator of forest cum field director tiger reserve Palamu said all eyes are now on this CM’s meeting wherein core issues of PTR are to be discussed and it is really a great thing that CM Raghubar Das has found time to preside over this highly important committee Steeering Committee on February 8.
A 5 member team of Wild Life Institute of India (WII) has already arrived in Ranchi. WII will also sit in this CM’s meeting. WII team has come for survey of tiger and its prey base augmentation project in PTR.
The members are Indranil Pal, Sumit Saha, Kausik Banerjee and Anup Pradhan. Banerjee is the project scientist with Tiger Cell in WII.
Singh said PTR has multiple issues like railway lines that pass through it for 27 Kms, state highway number 9 that runs all through PTR from Kutmu More to Mahuadarn and PTR’s thrust is that this SH 9 be left in its same status without upgrading it into any NH as then it will be most disastrous for wild life here, issue of electricity power poles in PTR and PTr’s emphasis on laying of underground cable will top the discussion on PTR in this Steering Committee meeting.
Singh said, “PTR is not the cup of tea for only forest or PTR officials. It is everyone’s asset. And hence a convergence of departments like education, health, road, electricity, social welfare, labour, drinking water, sanitation etc is needed for an all round development and sustainability of PTR.”
Sources said security of wild life, its personnel will echo most as the whole of PTR especially five of its 8 ranges are the homes of the CPI Maoists and Burha Pahar the abode of Maoiss in PTR remains a witness to all land mine explosions to firing and coss-firing.
Sources said the loss of one elephant in Maoists led IED blast in PTR is too agonising and painful o the PTR authorities and presence of Maoists and as many as a dozen or more forward security posts in PTR may also be touched upon in this Steering Committee meeting.