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More villages talk of tiger projects

Authorities at state tiger reserves are receiving demands from village representatives for their inclusion in buffer zones

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The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) will have to consider the demands of the villagers before a final notification is issued
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In a change from days when inclusion of hamlets in protected areas would be opposed, authorities are getting demands for villages bordering tiger projects to be included in their buffer areas.

Senior forest officials said this was because villagers in buffer zones were benefiting due to various developmental and livelihood schemes.

Sources said they had received demands from locals and elected representatives for more villages to be included in tiger reserves like Tadoba and Pench. "This will help develop these villages in a sustainable manner without destroying forests and promote conservation-based development. The tiger reserves will also benefit as they can increase their area in a participatory manner," said another official.

A senior department official noted that earlier, inclusion of villages in buffers like in the Navegaon- Nagzira tiger project would lead to resistance by locals due to ignorance and political instigation.

"However, schemes like subsidised LPG, grants for biogas plants, solar fencing for crops, water conservation, Van-Dhan yojana and livelihood training have aided development in buffer zone villages. This has led to other villages outside the buffer demanding that they too should be included in these zones," he added, stating that they were requesting the state government to set up a committee to decide on this.

Two legislators—Congress MLA Sunil Kedar (Saoner) and his BJP counterpart D.Mallikarjun Reddy (Ramtek) have written to M.S Reddy, chief conservator of forests and field director of the Pench tiger reserve seeking that six villages from Saoner and one village in Parshivni respectively be included in the buffer. The Pench tiger reserve already has around 40 villages in the buffer zone.

Sources said authorities at the Tadoba tiger project had received similar demands from 15 villages. This included 11 from within the buffer which had not been formally notified and four villages from outside the project's boundary who have sought inclusion in the buffer. The Tadoba Andhari tiger reserve buffer already contains 106 villages including 11 uninhabited ones.

Girish Vashisht, divisional forest officer (DFO) and spokesperson of the state forest department's wildlife wing, said they had received representations from some villages for inclusion in buffers. A significant quantum (30%) of funds collected by the tiger conservation foundations of the tiger projects (through tourism, CSR and compensation grants) are devolved to villages in buffer zones for various works, he said, adding that growth in tourism had led to more benefits flowing to them, resulting in increasing demands from villages for inclusion in tiger projects.

However for this to happen, the government will have to set up a fresh committee. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) will also have to consider it before a final notification is issued. Vashisth said however, once these villages were part of the buffer, restrictions would be imposed on large projects like dams, railway lines and mines.

"This cannot be done based merely on benefits to villages. It has to be seen if it is technically right (in terms of wildlife management) to include them in the buffer," he added.

The protection and conservation strategy in tiger projects involves creation of a core (critical tiger habitat) and buffer, which is the outer area protecting the core. Maharashtra has six tiger projects, namely Tadoba- Andhari, Melghat, Navegaon- Nagzira, Bor, Sahyadri and Pench.

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