Even as Madhya Pradesh is vying for “Tiger State” tag in the country, more than two dozen big cats in its Ratapani Sanctuary face the risk due to poaching and man-animal conflicts. In 2008, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) granted in principle approval for the sanctuary to be converted into tiger reserve, based on the then consent of the State Government.
The State is now reluctant to go ahead with the proposal at this juncture, prompting the NTCA to ask it to reconsider its decision in the interests of tiger conservation. There are about 24-28 tigers in the sanctuary.
Documents received through RTI filed by wildlife enthusiast Ajay Dubey, showed that the Madhya Pradesh Government in a letter to NTCA, mentioned that Ratapani, which is 40 km from State capital Bhopal, instead of being made into a tiger reserve should be constituted into a separate wildlife division. With an area of 910.638 sq kms, the sanctuary is a part of larger forest landscape, where tiger population has doubled during the last five years.
The letter has cited various reasons in justification of the State Government’s contention. There are about 31 villages across the sanctuary. Declaring it a tiger reserve would call for their voluntary relocation involving huge expenses and approval of expert team.
Further, the shape of the sanctuary is more like a dumbbell, whereby its central width is constricted. This would make the division of core and buffer area difficult. More so, such demarcations would also require the approval of the state cabinet, said the letter.
Responding to the letter of the State Government, the NTCA clarified that the issue of relocation is taken care of by the NTCA, through the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger which has a “strongly institutionalised and robust mechanism of voluntary village relocation under Wildlife Protection Act 1972”. Similar problems have been taken care of in other reserves as well, said the letter.
The dumbbell shape of the reserve can be compensated by notifying a suitable buffer. The letter clarified that Kanha Tiger Reserve also has a similar shape. It has optimised its buffer, which has ensured the success of the landscape that has emerged one of the major source areas of tigers in Central India.
Citing its justifications, NTCA suggested that “focused attention on tiger conservation can be provided if the area is covered by Project Tiger”. Increasing number of tigers in the area can result in their straying and man tiger conflicts.
Meanwhile, Ajay Dubey has filed a case against the State Forest Department for tiger reserve status to Ratapani, which is pending in the MP High Court. He pointed to cases of tigers spilling out to forests adjoining Bhopal.