"The crocs were to be released once they reached safe numbers," says R P S Katwal, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden. But the plan, he says, was aborted due to resistance from people residing in the vicinity of the habitats.

"Fishermen do not allow their release into fish-rich water bodies as they feel it would lead to a decline in catch. And maintenance authorities like the PWD object if we release them in dams," Katwal adds.

The last survey put the wild population at 1,500 gharial, 1000 saltwater crocodiles and 3,000-5,000 muggers. In captivity, there are 450 gharials, 650 saltwater crocodiles and 12,000 muggers.

The problem is not just the increased numbers butalso their management. Breeding centres at Amravathi, Sathanur and Hoggenekkal, home to around 1,300 muggers, are filled to capacity. N Krishnakumar, conservator of forests (northern Region) and director of the Arignar Anna Zoological Park, rejects charges of oversight on part of the people managing the programme: "On the positive front, the `surplus' is evidence of the fact that we have succeeded in our bid to conserve. And it is not as though we lacked foresight. The initial concern was conservation. We did not realise that the crocs would over-breed." He lays the blame on the people who obstruct the release of the crocodiles into natural habitats.