State Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar
Even as the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the state government have formed committees to probe the killing of tigress Avni or T1, state Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar tells The Indian Express that everything was done as per law.
Tigress Avni’s shooting has created a controversy with Union Minister Maneka Gandhi protesting the manner in which it was killed. The Shiv Sena and several animal activists have also criticised the killing.
The tigress was killed after exploring all possible legal scenarios. The Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court had agreed with the forest department’s contention that Avni was a maneater and had given the go-ahead to tranquilise or shoot her. Since January, forest officials were trying to capture Avni. It wasn’t a single day operation. Everything was as per law.
There are allegations that the spot where Avni was killed was “dressed up” with reports claiming that a dart was pierced inside the tigress after her death.
As per the chief forest warden, a team of forest officials were on patrol when they suddenly came face to face with Avni. When you are barely 15-20 metres away from a maneater, it’s not a controlled environment and the forest officials had to take quick decisions. Usually, tigers don’t die of a single bullet wound but, in the case of Avni, she succumbed to a single shot. The forest officials fired a dart and a bullet at the tigress.
There is criticism about the appointment of Nawab Shafat Ali Khan, the hunter who killed the tigress.
As far as I know, Nawab Khan has been appointed by many states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Bihar in the past to hunt down wild animals. He has also been felicitated with appreciation letters from the forest department of many states. On the alleged criminal case against him, if anyone has proof, they should make it public.
If Avni was indeed a threat, why did the state government wait for two years to kill it? Also, why DNA tests of only three of the 13 deaths attributed to her have been conducted?
As per forest department records, it was in mid-2017 when tigress Avni or T1 was declared a maneater. Following this, an order to capture or shoot her was issued but the Bombay High Court put a stay on it. In September 2017, when five villagers were killed in an attack by the tigress, both the High Court and the Supreme Court gave the go-ahead to the forest department to implement its order to tranquilise or shoot the tigress.
Following this, in January this year, a fresh order to capture or shoot her, in the event efforts to capture her were unsuccessful, were issued. The tigress had killed 13 people, of which five deaths have been confirmed through DNA tests. Two committees have been set up to probe her death and, if DNA tests of the other victims are required, these committees can ask for it. There are also other ways of confirming her attacks – like conducting forensic tests on soil samples where the villagers were found dead to ascertain if they were killed by her.
The tigress was killed after sunset, drawing allegations that procedures and rules were violated.
There is nothing in the law which prohibits carrying out such an operation during night time. As I earlier said, the patrol team chanced upon Avni and had to fire in self-defence. The area the team was patrolling is a tiger corridor and forest teams are required to be armed for any eventuality.
Were any efforts made to capture the cubs before killing T1?
Forests like Pandharkawada have grasses which are 5-ft tall. This provided the right camouflage for the tigress to secure her cubs. Also, you will attract the wrath of a tigress if you separate her from her cubs. The forest department has formed around 10 teams to track the cubs. We are also using cameras to locate them.
What steps is the state government taking to protect tigers?
In the last 15 years, the number of tigers in the state has increased by over 200 per cent. In 2003, Maharashtra had only 103 tigers but today we have 213.
How do you plan to check man-animal conflicts?
Last year, there were 40 cases of man-animal conflicts in the state. This year, there has been a sizable decline with 30 such cases. We are trying to encourage people to adopt means and measures so that their dependency on forests reduces. For the last four years, we have started the Jan Man Yojana scheme, under which more than 50,000 people have got LPG connections. They now don’t go to the forest for firewood. For farmers carrying out cultivations near forest covers, we are planning to build solar power-enabled fencing so that crops are protected from wild animals and the animals don’t die of electric shock.
We are losing forest cover to infrastructure. What steps are being taken to increase the green cover?
Yes, in cities like Mumbai some of the infrastructure projects are being planned on forest land. However, to maintain a balance, every project is required to fulfil environmental conditions like carrying out alternative tree plantation to conserve trees. According to National Forest Survey data, Maharashtra’s forest cover has increased by 1 per cent. This is a result of good policies implemented by the government to save the environment. We have also started tree plantation drives and, by 2022, we aim to plant more than 20 crore trees.