In a major boost to its tiger conservation programme, the Government on Wednesday enhanced the budget for Project Tiger by more than four times and decided to the create eight new reserves in the country.

The Centre would spend Rs 600 crore in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan on protecting the tiger whose numbers in India have gone down dramatically in the last few years, mainly because of poaching. In the Tenth Five-Year Plan, Project Tiger had a budget of about Rs 150 crore only.

Apart from continuing the ongoing programmes of Project Tiger, the enhanced outlay would support a number of new initiatives, including improved relocation and rehabilitation packages for people living in core tiger zones. The compensation package for these people has been increased from Rs 1 lakh per family to Rs 10 lakh per family.

“This is one of the most significant decisions in the history of tiger conservation in the country,” said Dr Rajesh Gopal, member secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. “It will help in providing a fair deal to the people living in the core areas and make their relocation easier, thereby creating more areas for the tigers,” he said.

Eight existing national parks or sanctuaries have been elevated to the status of tiger reserves, which means that they would receive enhanced funding and greater support from the Government. Two of these new tiger reserves are in Tamil Nadu, and one each in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Assam and Chhattisgarh.

The Government said the increased outlay would help create the right conditions for increasing the tiger population in the country. The number of tigers has fallen sharply in recent years and according to latest estimates, there are not more than 1300-1500 tigers left in the country.