Not tigers, but claims roar here

Big snub to big cat hub - Conservation benefits elude Palamau Tiger Reserve

A.S.R.P. MUKESH

Caption: Wild neglect: State sits on directive of nodal agency to set up foundation, misses on funds for tigers Ranchi, Dec. 17: Numerous roars, but not even a whimper of action. Jharkhand is a classic example of how government apathy and bureaucratic neglect are ruining Palamau Tiger Reserve. Under the Wildlife Protection Act, it is mandatory for all states with reserves to have a tiger conservation foundation, a conservation plan, a steering committee headed by the chief minister and buffer zones around each reserve to save tigers who stray out of forest. Jharkhand doesn’t have any of the above. Moreover, The Telegraph has learnt that despite several reminders from the Union ministry of forest and environment, the state government has, for two years, been simply sitting on directives from National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to set up a tiger conservation foundation. A state foundation, according to project tiger/project elephant steering committee member D.S. Srivastava, facilitates management of reserves for tigers, conserves biodiversity and initiates ecological uplift by involving people. But most importantly, it removes bottlenecks in transfer of central funds to respective state reserves. “Such a state foundation is empowered to act as an autonomous body and minimise channels of funds flow so that the money meant for tigers can directly reach them. Ironically, no one is concerned about Palamau reserve, one of the oldest in the country,” rued Srivastava. According to NTCA deputy inspector-general of forests S.P. Yadav, under section 38X of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, amended in 2006, all state governments are required to establish reserve specific tiger conservation foundations. Following the central ministry mandate, almost every state has its conservation foundation, except Jharkhand. The lack of a foundation has cost the reserve dear in terms of funds. This year, the reserve is likely to lose a large share of funds out of the Rs 242.31 lakh sanction for 2010-11 from NTCA. According to the letter available with The Telegraph, this August, NTCA released its first installment of Rs 130.616 lakh to Jharkhand. But reserve officials said they did not get a single penny. “Not one, but several directives have been issued to Jharkhand in this regard. Since 2008, we have been writing to Jharkhand every six months but they have a single readymade answer — ‘it’s under process’,” Yadav told The Telegraph over phone from New Delhi. Palamau Tiger Reserve director Paritosh Upadhyay said the department had submitted the proposal for the foundation to the government last year and they too were waiting for its clearance.