New Delhi,30 Apr (Lok Sabha): A tiger have been killed in Tadoba Andheri Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra by the people of the villages surrounding the Reserve. As reported by the State, mortality of a tiger on account of electrocution through a wire laid by poachers, has occurred in January, 2007, outside the western boundary of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve of Maharashtra, and action has been taken against the offenders.
While some instances of illicit felling of bamboo and timber have come to light in the area, no organized crime in this regard by timber mafia or paper mill has been noticed.
The steps taken by the Government of India for tiger conservation are at Annexure-I.
ANNEXURE-I
The steps taken by the Government of India for tiger conservation are as below:-
1. Amendment of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 for providing enabling provisions for constitution of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau. The punishment in cases of offence within a tiger reserve has been enhanced. The Act also provides for forfeiture of any equipment, vehicle or weapon that has been used for committing any wild life offence.
2. Strengthening of antipoaching activities, including special strategy for monsoon patrolling, by providing funding support to Tiger Reserve States, as proposed by them, for deployment of antipoaching squads involving ex-army personnel / home guards, apart from workforce comprising of local people, in addition to strengthening of communication / wireless facilities.
3. 100% Central Assistance provided to 17 Tiger Reserves as an additionality for deployment of Tiger Protection Force, comprising of ex-army personnel and local workforce.
4. Constitution of the National Tiger Conservation Authority with effect from 4.09.2006, for strengthening tiger conservation by, interalia, ensuring normative standards in tiger reserve management, preparation of reserve specific tiger conservation plan, laying down annual / audit report before Parliament, constituting State level Steering Committees under the Chairmanship of Chief Ministers and establishment of Tiger Conservation Foundation.
5. Constitution of a multidisciplinary Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau (Wildlife Crime Control Bureau) with effect from 6.6.2007 comprising of officers from Police, Forest, Customs and other enforcement agencies to effectively control illegal trade in wildlife.
6. The revised Project Tiger guidelines have been issued to States for strengthening tiger conservation, which apart from ongoing activities, interalia, include funding support to States for enhanced village relocation/rehabilitation package for people living in core or critical tiger habitats (from Rs. 1 lakh/family to Rs. 10 lakhs/family), rehabilitation/resettlement of communities involved in traditional hunting, mainstreaming livelihood and wildlife concerns in forests outside tiger reserves and fostering corridor conservation through restorative strategy to arrest habitat fragmentation.
7. Memorandum of Understanding developed for better/concerted implementation of conservation inputs through tiger reserve States.
8. Financial and technical help is provided to the States under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes, viz. Project Tiger and Development of National Parks and Sanctuaries for enhancing the capacity and infrastructure of the States for providing effective protection to wild animals.
9. Enabling provisions provided in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, through amendment in 2006, for preparing tiger reserve specific ‘Tiger Conservation Plan’, addressing issues relating to tiger (in the core/critical area) and people (in the buffer / fringe area).
10.Enabling provisions provided in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, through amendment in 2006, for preparing reserve wise Tiger Conservation Foundation, for involving local stakeholder communities.
11.Enabling provisions provided in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, through amendment in 2006, for creating State level Steering Committees by States under the Chief Minister for ensuring coordination, monitoring, protection and conservation of tiger, copredators and prey animals.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Environment & Forests, Shri S. Regupathy in a written reply to a question by Shrimati Maneka Gandhi, in the Lok Sabha today.