HYDERABAD: Expressing  concern over the extinction of tigers and other wild animals, a division bench of Telangana High Court Tuesday directed the Chief Wildlife Warden, State Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Field Director of Kawal Reserve Forest in Adilabad to appear before the court on February 7 to explain the measures planned for protection of endangered animals. There was also a need to provide the animals an opportunity for free movement in forests, the bench observed. 

The bench passed this order along the lines of a PIL filed by Diya Sur, a wildlife conservationist from Hyderabad, assailing the inaction of the concerned authorities for failing to strictly implement the tiger conservation plan as approved by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, New Delhi, in the Kawal Reserve Forest area, spread across Adilabad, Nirmal, Komaram Bheem Asifabad and Mancherial districts.

The petitioner submitted that the population of tigers was ample in Tadoba-Andheri reserve in Maharashtra, from where the tigers have been moving towards the Kawal Reserve Forest. However, due to the lackadaisical attitude of the forest officials in providing sufficient protection to the tigers, the species have been falling prey to poaching and other heinous acts.   

The petitioner’s counsel told the court that two tigers were killed, including the one due to live electric wires, in the last one month. The Kawal reserve forest was declared as a sanctuary and is required to protect the big cats under the Wildlife Protection Act. The concerned authorities have the responsibility to implement the Act for the protection of tigers. The authorities’ failure has resulted in death or disappearance of about 20 tigers which entered Telangana from the neighbouring Maharashtra since the declaration of Kawal Tiger Reserve, the counsel alleged.

Intervening, the bench wondered as to how the poachers could get access to electricity in the forest where the human movement was strictly prohibited and restricted. It was necessary to know whether the tigers were killed accidentally due to the electrical fencing meant for protection of those living in forest area or whether the death was due to fencing erected as part of hunting. The court wanted to know from the officers as to how many cases have been registered against the poachers, how many have been arrested so far for killing the tigers and how many electricity connections exists in the forest area.

During the course of the hearing, the bench referred to the establishment of cameras in Periyar area for protection of elephants only for the wild animals to destroy them. There was a need to let the animals free, the bench opined.

While questioning the steps taken by the Forest Protection Committee regarding encroachments, the bench felt the need of taking suggestions from the field level officers for protection tigers and other animals, and birds in forests. The bench summoned the Chief Wildlife Warden, State Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and the Field Director of Kawal Tiger Reserve to elaborate on the issue, and posted the matter to February 7.