Tiger conservation plans for 16 reserves are yet to be submitted

It also includes Ranthambore and Mukundhara Hills in Rajasthan

The Tiger Conservation Plan (TCP) of 16 reserves, including Ranthambore and Mukundhara Hills in Rajasthan, are yet to be submitted by various states to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

NTCA in its reply to an RTI application has stated that out of the total 50 tiger reserves in the country, TCP of 34 tiger reserves has been approved while rest of the states including Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are yet to submit final TCPs.

"So far, TCP for Ranthambore and Mukundhara Hills reserves is yet to be approved. We have submitted documents to the NTCA and are hopeful to get the approval in coming months," state chief wildlife warden, G  V Reddy told PTI.

Like a working plan for territorial areas and management plan for national parks and sanctuaries, a TCP is needed under provisions (Section 38V) of the NTCA for proper management of a tiger reserve, which includes staff development and deployment plan, said wildlife activist Ajay Dubey who had filed the RTI application.

Dubey said after NTCA was constituted in 2006, all states were asked to submit TCP of tiger reserves coming under their ambit.

However, even after the Supreme Court directives to comply with the guidelines, states have failed to submit TCPs.

NTCA in its objectives had defined that TCP aims at ecologically compatible land uses in tiger reserves and areas linking it to another for addressing the livelihood concerns of locals, so as to provide dispersal habitats and corridors for spillover population of wild animals from the designated core areas.