The tiger is going through its worst crisis ever, the Supreme Court, the PMO, the CBI and the dwindling numbers agree. But not the Ministry of Environment and Forest.

Barely weeks after it said that the ongoing tiger census will take one more year, the Ministry today told the Prime Minister that its “independent” audit has found that all’s well with almost all of the tiger reserves.

The audit comes at a time when the Ministry is also actively resisting a PMO move to create a separate department for wildlife and forest.

At a stormy meeting of the National Board of Wildlife—the apex advisory body on wildlife—chaired by the Prime Minister, the Ministry claimed that its audit by retired officials found 19 of 28 tiger reserves in either “very good” or “good” condition.

Of the remaining nine, seven were found “satisfactory”. The two “poor” exceptions were Sariska—where the last tiger has been poached—and Indravati, where Naxals don’t allow anyone in.

After this presentation, Project Tiger director Rajesh Gopal promised to place the full report before Parliament in the coming monsoon session.

The ministry’s auditors found troubled reserves like Panna or Buxa in “good” health. In West Bengal, Buxa is a disturbed zone with estimates putting the number at zero or merely one. Panna in Madhya Pradesh is infamous for rapid loss of tigers, the latest being three deaths in last two months.

Intense media glare on Ranthambhore, however, pushed down the reserve’s rating but was still termed “satisfactory”. As expected, Kanha topped the chart.

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