Rs 550cr Plan Allocation For Wildlife

The Planning Commission has indicated an outlay of Rs 550 crore for the wildlife sector, of which Rs 70 crore has been earmarked for tiger conservation. Wildlife experts say the allocation is inadequate.

The experts feel that the amount earmarked for tiger conservation (Rs 70 crore) needs to be substantially increased to strengthen the ongoing tiger conservation programme.

The Planning Commissions working group on wildlife management had recommended an outlay of Rs 2,400 crore for the wildlife sector, of which Rs 90 crore was recommended for tiger conservation. The outlay, as indicated by the Planning Commission, therefore, is a climbdown from what had been sought.

In India, which accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the world tiger population, tigers are increasingly falling prey to poaching and poisoning by villagers.

Poisoning is posing a major threat to the tigers existance and forest officials seem unable to stop it. The blame can be put on the fast disappearing forest cover. With degradation of forests, the tigers prey-base (consisting of mainly deer and wild boar) dwindles, leading it to nearby villages in search of livestock. This forces villagers resort to poisoning the kill to save the rest of the cattle. Figures available with the Project Tiger shows reveal that at least 50 tigers died of poisoning over the last three years. The Corbett National Park and the Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh alone account for 10 such deaths in a span of four months. At the Nagarjun Sagar Reserve in Andhra Pradesh, the tiger death toll was 16 during the last three years. An examinaton of the viscera and also the `kill revealed poisoning.

According to S C Dey, a former inspector general of forests and the secretary general of Global Tiger Forum, the tiger population was down to an estimated1,800 in 1993, then rose to 4,334 in 1989, and now has declinedagain.

Tiger Project officials say that tiger reserves do not have the required manpower or vehicles to effectively implement conservation programmes.

For all these reasons, an enhanced outlay for wildlife as well as the tiger sector is a must.