Underlining its disagreement, the Maharashtra Forest department has written to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) seeking withdrawal of its directive that asks all Chief Wildlife Wardens to seek prior or ex post facto approval before they decide to put a tiger down.
The letter sent by Maharashtra's Chief Wildlife Warden last week clarifies that the order does not align with the provision of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and hence needs to be withdrawn immediately.
On September 12, NTCA sent out the communication signed by Dr Anup Kumar Nayak, Additional Director General (Project Tiger) and Member Secretary, to all tiger states which said that it was preferable if a prior or ex post facto (retroactive) permission was taken if a decision was taken to 'hunt' a 'problematic' tiger. It cited Section 38 O (1) (k) of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
Maharashtra's Chief Wildlife Warden Nitin Kakodkar has expressed reservations to NTCA officially. While top NTCA officials were not available for comment, senior officials said that the idea was to ensure that tigers are not declared 'problematic' and shot under political or public pressure.
Directive
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| National Tiger Conservation Authority asked all Chief Wildlife Wardens to seek prior or ex post facto approval before they decide to put a tiger down |
"It's an absolutely illogical move," said a senior forest officer, adding that the purpose behind the NTCA directive is not clear. "Not only does it undermine the authority of the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW) of a state, who is given the power to decide whether to shoot or capture a problematic tiger, it also contradicts the Wildlife Protection Act."
Forest officers say it is not always possible for the CWW to get NTCA's prior approval for a solution, and that reiterates that the CWW him/herself was a very senior and experienced officer who understands the ground situation and accountable for his/her actions.
"Managing human-tiger conflict can be extremely tricky if the tiger is a man-eater," said another Forest official.
"Also, there can be severe repercussions on the ground if there is a delay while CWW and NTCA correspond over permissions, which risks not only many human lives but also the life of many tigers." (S)he also questioned NTCA's authority to issue such a directive.
A former CWW explained that ex post facto permissions could also be problematic. "Say a CWW gives permission to shoot a tiger and also seeks ex post facto permission from NTCA. What if the tiger is shot and the NTCA denies permission later? What is the CWW supposed to do?," he countered, stating that Maharashtra, like all other states, follows all requirements mandated by NTCA when dealing with problem tigers.
However, one NTCA official hinted that the directives might be modified soon.
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