Withdraw notice on relocation of villages in core areas of tiger reserves, citizens tell Centre
It should be ensured that efforts to protect tigers did not violate the rights of forest communities, said 150 groups and individuals.
Join our WhatsApp Community to receive travel deals, free stays, and special offers!
- Join Now -
Join our WhatsApp Community to receive travel deals, free stays, and special offers!
- Join Now -
A total of 150 groups, individuals and activists on Thursday demanded the National Tiger Conservation Authority to withdraw its notice asking state governments to submit action plans on the relocation of villages in the core areas of tiger reserves.
The authority comes under the Union Ministry of Environment and oversees the protection of the endangered animal and Project Tiger, a wildlife conservation movement initiated in 1973.
The core or critical tiger habitats inside tiger reserves are areas that are kept “inviolate” under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to maintain a viable population of breeding tigers.
On June 19, the National Tiger Conservation Authority sent a notice to state wildlife departments seeking a timeline and action plan for the relocation of 591 villages comprising 64,801 families inside the core areas.
If followed through, this would be among the largest displacements in the name of wildlife conservation. Over 25,000 families have already been relocated since the beginning of Project Tiger.
Notifications have already been sent to families about the relocation, Tushar Dash, a forest rights researcher and a signatory of the letter, told Scroll. “In Amrabad Tiger Reserve in Telangana, over 400 families from four villages have been notified to relocate.”
He added: “In Madhya Pradesh, gram sabhas have held meetings and passed resolutions under the Forest Rights Act...
