| THE STATE OF THE TIGER | |
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Madhya Pradesh: The Tiger State - The Tiger State's Masquerade
It was anticipated that political initiatives in the Tiger State of Madhya Pradesh would become a model for the future of tiger conservation across India. Yet, what had started as a positive and enthusiastic initiative has been exposed as nothing more than a public relations exercise for a State government bent on exploiting it's remaining natural resources to the detriment of the tiger, the forests and the people who depend on them. By the end of 1997, the Tiger State Committee had been terminated, the Madhya Pradesh government claiming it had fulfilled it's role. Yet, according to one member of the Committee, the only recommendation that had been implemented was the installation of a fax machine in the Chief Wildlife Warden's office. Contrary to the advice of members of the Tiger State Committee and in spite of the Chief Minister agreeing that placing the right man in the right place was the first step towards protecting the tiger, Additional Inspector General of Police Rajgopal was relieved of his position as chairman of the Tiger Cell. Since then, the Tiger Cell is reported to have been rendered ineffective with little follow up or proactive work being carried out. Only the Tiger State Foundation remains - a body which was originally suggested as a coalition of two government and five non-government individuals has been expanded to thirteen individuals, mostly State government officials. While the State government espouses empty promises and rhetoric in its bid to attract funds, representatives of the same government are guilty of sanctioning the continued destruction of the last remnants of Madhya Pradesh's forests, of complacency towards the continued poaching of tigers and their prey and of showing complete disregard to the recommendations of their own experts. The Tigers of the Tiger State have never been worse off. |
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