Funds for national parks: SC puts Bihar, Centre on notice

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 7: Taking note of the mismanagement of the funds allotted to the national parks, the Supreme Court today issued notices to the Union government and the Bihar government asking them to explain why the staff of Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar had not been paid their salaries for over a year.

In October last year, the staff had walked out of the park in protest endangering the security of the 43 tigers in the reserve.

Following a report in the The Indian Express, Trustee of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and member of the Project Tiger Steering committee Ashok Kumar, had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking its intervention in the matter.

The management and administration of the forest is under the direct control and supervision of the Bihar government and the Centre provides it with special funds under Project Tiger.

While the Bihar government paid some of the staff in October after the petition was filed, it has yet to pay the 44 forest guards.

The state government had clearly diverted the funds elsewhere as the Centre had already released Rs 50 lakh in July 2001 to the state government for anti-poaching measures, protection of the park and salaries for the guards for the financial year 2001-2002.

‘‘But the funds have not reached the tiger reserve and this park remains virtually unmanaged,’’ said Kumar Kumar has accused the Bihar government of releasing the funds on paper in the last month of the financial year, which means that it cannot possibly be used justifiably in a few days.

The annual funds are treated as lapsed if it is not used within the year.