18 tiger parks going Sariska way
Jairam Sounds Red Alert Against Miner-Poacher Activities In Reserves
Jairam Sounds Red Alert Against Miner-Poacher Activities In Reserves
Bhopal: A situation akin to Panna and Sariska reserves, where big cats disappeared, can arise at 18 tiger parks across the country if they are not protected in a proper manner, environment minister Jairam Ramesh warned on Friday. There are 39 project tigers reserves in the country and among them, the condition of only nine is good, 12 need improvement and in 18 Panna or Sariska can happen any time, Ramesh told reporters after the seventh convocation ceremony at the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM).
Both Panna and Sariska were in the news following disappearance of tigers from the reserve. There is certainly a conspiracy by the mining and poaching mafia to kill big cats so that the land gets denotified and then they can turn it into a real estate or use it for mining, he said.
When asked to identify some of these reserves, he said that besides Panna in Madhya Pradesh such a threat also exists in Maharashtra, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh among others. On handing over the case of disappearance of tigers from the Panna reserve to the CBI, Ramesh said he is awaiting the report of the committee formed by the state government and only after going through its findings a decision can be taken.
The minister said it is not necessary to hand over everything to the CBI. Once we get the report, we will take a decision on the issue.
On the issue of shifting of lions from Gujarats Gir forest to Madhya Pradesh, he said the Centre wanted to make another habitat for lions. As part of that plan, the Centre had asked the Gujarat government to give lions to Madhya Pradesh, he said. The plan is still there and since both are BJP-ruled states they can also pursue the matter. He also said the Centre has granted Rs 50 crores to Gujarat for the extension of the Gir reserve, but it wanted one more habitat in the country for their conservation. AGENCIES
Tiger census figures by Nov, says Ramesh
Bhopal: Environment and forest minister Jairam Ramesh said on Friday the latest tiger census report will be out by November. This time the tiger census is being conducted in a more scientific manner while earlier it was done based on pug marks, he said. AGENCIES
Gir lions dying anyway, why not give us 5: MP
Ahmedabad: The Madhya Pradesh government has reportedly stated that if an average of 10 lions die unnaturally in Gir every year, then there is no harm in the Gujarat government parting with five lions for its Kuno Palpur project. The counter affidavit filed by the MP government in the Supreme Court has stated that many lions die by falling into wells, getting electrocuted or by poaching. In the last three years, eight lions have died unnaturally within Gir Sanctuary. Forest officials said the MP government has assured the court that it would give full protection to the lions being brought from Gujarat, reiterating that Kuno Palpur had adequate prey base and that the lions would not die of starvation.