Dholpur-Karauli to be Rajasthan 5th tiger reserve & India’s 54th
Recently the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has given final approval to the fifth 5th Tiger Reserve of Rajasthan at Dholpur Karauli. This is the 54th Tiger Reserve of the country.
Earlier, Ranipur Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh was declared as the 53rd Tiger Reserve of the country.
Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India has also given in-principle approval to declare Kumbhalgarh in Rajasthan as Tiger Reserve.
It may be noted that with the increasing population of big cats in ‘Ranthambore Tiger Reserve’, the Rajasthan State Forest Department had proposed to develop Dholpur-Karauli as the fifth Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan.
Rajasthan has other four tier reserves – Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Sawai Madhopur, Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar, Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve in Kota and Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve in Bundi, which were added in May 2022.
Number of tigers in India:
- According to government data, the number of tigers in India is set to increase from 2,967 in 2018 to 3,682 in 2022, an annual increase of 6 percent.
- With an increase of 50 per cent in the last four years, Madhya Pradesh has the maximum number of tigers in the country (785), followed by Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560), and Maharashtra (444). The number of tigers in Rajasthan has increased from 32 in 2006 to 88 in 2022.
National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)
- It was established in 2005 following the recommendation of the Tiger Task Force constituted by the then Prime Minister of India to reorganize the management of Project Tiger and Tiger Reserves in India.
- It has been set up under the chairmanship of the Minister of Environment and Forests.
- The authority consists of eight experts or professionals who have experience in wildlife conservation and welfare of people including tribals, among others.
- Out of these eight, three are Members of Parliament, out of which two are members of the Lok Sabha and one is a member of the Rajya Sabha.
- The Inspector General of Forests in charge of Project Tiger acts as its ex-officio member secretary.
- The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a statutory body constituted under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Functions:
- NTCA is the overarching body for the conservation of tigers in India. Its main administrative function is to approve the tiger conservation plan prepared by the state governments.
- Also evaluating various aspects of sustainable ecology and disallowing any ecologically unsustainable land use such as mining, industry and other projects within the tiger reserve area.
Source – Hindustan Times
