Two years after an amendment in the Wildlife (Protection) Act that makes formal notification of tiger reserves mandatory, The Indian Express has found that three states in the country are yet to notify their tiger reserves.

A 2006 Amendment in the Wildlife (Protection) Act said tiger reserves should be notified with a demarcation of a critical (core) area, to serve as an inviolate tiger habitat, and a buffer area which would help in creating contiguous tiger habitats.

Yet Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar — with a total of five tiger reserves — have not made any formal area demarcations yet. Making a formal notification would mean the tiger reserve would get increased funding for patrolling and development under various heads from the Central National Tiger Conservation Authority.

While the Dudhwa tiger reserve in UP and Valmiki in Bihar have been in existence for a while now, Udanti Sitanadi and Achanakmar in Chhattisgarh were made tiger reserves this year. Further, Pilibhit in UP, which has a rich tiger population, has been recently given in-principle approval for becoming a tiger reserve. The tiger census released this year by the Wildlife Institute of India found that UP has 109 tigers, Chhattisgarh 26 and Bihar 10 (including inside and outside tiger reserves).

In Dudhwa and Pilibhit, tigers have been reeling under man-animal conflict and poaching. In Dudhwa, tigers have been getting killed on a railway line that runs through the park.

“Despite all our pressures, UP, Bihar and Chhattisgarh have not notified the core areas of the tiger reserves. While verbal commitments have been made, no formal notification has been made,” says Rajesh Gopal, member secretary, NTCA.

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