More severe punishment will be meted out to those convicted of tiger poaching if amendment to Wildlife Protection Bill is passed. The Bill also makes provision for a powerful Tiger Conservation Authority.
The Bill was taken up for consideration in Rajya Sabha after slipping several times on legislative priority of the House. The amendment under consideration says that with respect to offence in tiger reserves, the sentence may be extended to seven years and the convict fined at least
Rs 25,000. Wildlife crimes invite punishment up to three years or fine up to Rs 25,000.
Making strident provisions to deter tiger poaching and destruction of its habitat, the Bill says the crime "committed in core area of tiger reserve or hunting in tiger reserve or altering the boundaries of tiger reserve, the offence shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term not less than three years but may extend to seven years and also with fine which shall not be less than Rs 25,000."
The Tiger Conservation Authority has been proposed to manage the tiger reserve and ensure "disallowing ecologically unsustainable land use within the tiger reserve." This could bring the forest-dwelling tribes and communities in tiger reserve under observation of the Authority, which has been the bone of contention between the so-called tribal and tiger lobby. The Authority is also expected to regulate tourism industry in buffer and core area of tiger reserve. The tribal lobby has alleged that those posing as wildlife-enthusiasts are running resorts in and around the tiger reserves.
The Authority will also ensure that areas identified as tiger-bearing forests are not diverted for ecologically unsustainable uses, except in public interest and with the approval of the National Board for Wildlife on the advice of the Tiger Conservation Authority. The Authority will approve and coordinate research on tiger, its habitat and related ecological and socio-economic parameters.
The State Governments have been asked to prepare tiger conservation plan and ensure ecologically-compatible land uses in the tiger bearing forests for addressing the livelihood concerns of local people. The measure will "provide dispersal habitats and corridor for spill over population of wild animals from the designated core areas of tiger reserve." It has often been observed that once the protected area regenerates, the buffer zone also thrives. As the ecology rejuvenates, both the prey and the predator flourish. Often animals stray out of the park boundary and need a safe passage to adjoining forests. This cannot happen if they are hemmed-in by human habitats surrounding the park or those that crop up in their natural migration routes, as is the case with many elephant corridors.
