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17 more reserves could go the Sariska way: Ramesh

India is one of the key players in the effort to protect the big cat, as the country has 1,411 of the 3,500 tigers left in the world.

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Minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh said in parliament on Wednesday that tigers were unsafe in 17 of the country’s 38 reserves. The statement was based on a recent finding by wildlife officials who took into account the density of tigers in each reserve vis-à-vis the security situation there.

The minister said control over seven of the 17 tiger reserves had been lost due to home-grown conflicts.

India is one of the key players in the effort to protect the big cat, as the country has 1,411 of the 3,500 tigers left in the world.

In the past five years, Project Tiger — the task force set up by the government — has spent over Rs300 crore for the upkeep and safety of reserves. “Seventeen of the 38 tiger reserves are in a very, very precarious condition, while 12 are in good condition and the condition of nine is satisfactory,” Ramesh said.

“We could have a Panna or Sariska in any of these reserves at any point,” he said.
Ministry sources said the condition of tigers was worst in Indravati (Chhattisgarh), Valmiki (Bihar), Manas (Assam), Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam (Andhra), Buxa (West Bengal), Palamu (Jharkhand) and Simlipal (Orissa) because these reserves are in conflict zones and forest officials have no access to them.

Although poaching continues to be the biggest reason for tiger deaths in India, experts blame man-animal conflict as the second-most concerning reason. India has lost over 26% of its tiger habitat  to industrialisation, development projects and growth in cities and towns.

Big price to pay 
New Delhi: A bill seeking to provide stringent penalty for wildlife crimes will be introduced in parliament’s budget session. Ramesh said, “The bill will steeply increase the fine.”
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