Forest dept begins study for taking tiger project ahead

Panaji: The forest department has begun the work of carrying out a study on the proposal of creating a tiger reserve in the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary, as the National Tiger Conservation Authority has been insisting that the Goa government take the proposal forward.

It may be noted that in June 2011, Jairam Ramesh, then minister of state for Environment and Forests, had advised the then chief minister Digambar Kamat to propose the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary as a tiger reserve because of the presence of resident Bengal tigers in the sanctuary.

The MoEF had urged Goa to seriously consider the proposal because Mhadei is a ‘contiguous tiger landscape’ upto Bhimgad wildlife sanctuary in Karnataka. The MoEF had also said that a tiger reserve would help consolidate the animal’s habitat and address the water security issues of Goa for posterity.

Later, in August 2011, there was a public announcement that “in principle”, approval was accorded by the National Tiger Conservation Authority for creation of a new tiger reserve in the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary. At that time, the Centre had authorised the Goa government to notify the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary as a tiger reserve under section 38V of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Santosh Kumar told this daily that when Manohar Parrikar was the chief minister, he had instructed the forest department to carry out a study on the proposal for notifying Mhadei wildlife sanctuary as a tiger reserve.

“Now, we have been carrying out a study about habitation in the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary which will include details on number of families living in the protected area besides the current traditional occupations and employment resources of the locals etc,” he said.

Kumar further said that Parrikar had suggested that while carrying out the study, the department should also examine alternative areas for rehabilitation of the families where apart from construction of houses for the families, their traditional occupations and other ways of livelihood are also taken care of.

It is pertinent to note that the 2010 National Tiger Conservation Authority estimation described the Goa stretch of the Western Ghats as an important tiger corridor between Anshi-Dandeli tiger reserve in Karnataka and the Sahyadris in Maharashtra, and confirmed occupancy of tigers within the state’s borders.

A recent report submitted by a team of National Tiger Conservation Authority also recommended that the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary in Sattari taluka be declared a tiger reserve.