Years ago, he went to Periyar tiger reserve in Kerala, Sunderbans tiger reserve in West Bengal and Ranthambhore tiger reserve in Rajasthan, but he couldn’t spot a tiger. Then after taking Independent charge as Minister for Environment and Forests, one of the first official trips Jairam Ramesh made was to the Bhadra tiger reserve in Karnataka to see India’s most famous animal. But the tiger eluded him again. Last Saturday, the Minister got his wish — he saw two tigresses in the Corbett tiger reserve.

So it was appropriate that he cleared an ambitious plan for Corbett in Uttarakhand, on the lines never seen before for tiger conservation. He is now working to get Corbett its very own microlight aircraft for surveillance and monitoring, along with a net of motion sensors. Technology, the Minister says, gives a “psychological edge” over poachers.

“Most of the world’s tigers are here in India,” said Ramesh. “If we need to get ahead of poachers, we need to think out of the box. And whatever innovations we do, we have to start here at Corbett, which is like the Taj Mahal of India’s tiger reserves. This place has most of India’s tigers,” he told The Indian Express.

He has now cleared a Rs 8.5-crore Comprehensive Security Plan for Corbett, which will pan out over the next six years. “This is a big area and mobility is a problem. The microlight aircraft will be used for surveillance and also during times of emergency. We need connectivity and mobility which such an aircraft can bring. Apart from Corbett, we also will bring in this aircraft at the Namdapha tiger reserve in Arunachal Pradesh, which suffers from lack of connectivity,” he said.

... contd.