| THE STATE OF THE TIGER | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nationwide - The State of the Tiger and Wildlife Nationwide
This section does not attempt to update all the issues throughout India but provides examples across the country. The Madhya Pradesh State government does not stand alone with its appalling lack of commitment to preventing the extinction of its tigers and other wildlife. Bihar In Bihar, the State government has consistently starved Palamau Tiger Reserve of funds, relegating this vital tiger habitat to the political wilderness, controlled by dangerous political insurgents and bandits. In March 1998, two daily wage labourers were killed when the jeep they were driving hit a landmine that was meant for the Divisional Forest Officer. Andhra Pradesh The Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh narrowly missed being destroyed by roads financed by the World Bank, but only due to the persistence of Indian NGOs. The heavy presence of political insurgents inside the Reserve has given illegal loggers and poachers a free hand. Official figures reflect a continual decline in the tiger population since 1989, from 94 to 25 tigers. The latest reported threat to Nagarjunsagar is uranium exploration in a 7km section of the Tiger Reserve. Officials are allegedly claiming that there is "no wildlife activity in the sanctuary at all." Karnataka In October 1996, EIA reported on the battle that Indian organisations were having with the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) in Karnataka. This public sector company had obtained a license for prospecting in the Nellibedu region of the Kudremukh National Park, on the understanding that no trees would be cut and that no roads would be built. In clear violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, the Forest Conservation Act and the Environmental Protection Act, KIOCL visibly destroyed the area and polluted the surrounding ecosystem. Following the Supreme Court ruling of December 1996, reiterating that no non-forest activities could be conducted in a National Park, the Chief Wildlife Warden publicly accused the company of violating the rules. KIOCL should never have been given a license and the Chief Wildlife Warden took the fight further and denied KIOCL clearance to prospect in 912 hectares of the Gangarikallu area in the heart of Kudremukh National Park. Without protests from Indian NGOs like Wildlife First!, supported by the judiciary, the State government and their corporate cronies would have got away with destroying prime tiger habitat. Now Kudremukh is being threatened by the possibility of a tourist resort being built on Revenue land right inside the National Park, and more recently by the threat of a dam at Kachige Hole inside the National Park. Rajasthan Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan illustrates the positive effects of having the right person in the right place. While still in an extremely precarious situation, the tigers of Ranthambore have experienced a period of relief as a result of the dedication of Deputy Director Mr G S Reddy and his staff. Through a combination of his efforts to enforce national legislation and the activities of NGOs working with the local communities, 80% of the illicit grazing in the area has been controlled and the niche left by the tigers that were poached in the early 1990s is slowly being re-populated. The situation hangs in the balance with threats to Mr Reddy's position, and the security of his family and staff, hinging on the whims of local bureaucrats and politicians eager to aggravate a delicate state of affairs to their own advantage. Maharashtra The Forest Department of Maharashtra has confronted the State Irrigation Department over their multiple violations of the Wildlife Protection Act and the Forest Conservation Act but to no avail. The Irrigation Department has failed to move the Totladoh colony outside of the Park now that construction of the Totladoh dam has been completed, as agreed when the project was cleared. Instead they have started constructing new permanent buildings inside the National Park, in violation of the law and irrespective of any lease they may have. In addition, the colony has illegally encroached onto surrounding forest land and houses many of the illegal fishermen. Near the colony is the illegal Mickey Resort - offering accommodation and meals right inside the National Park. The owner acquired the land illegally from the Irrigation Department in 1982, who held the lease at the time, even though they had absolutely no right to hand it over. The Mickey Resort has also illegally encroached onto forest land. |
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