GUWAHATI, Feb 10 – After an inordinate delay, the Kaziranga National Park would finally receive funds under the Project Tiger. An amount of nearly one crore rupees, sourced from the Union Government has been released by the State Government. Well-placed sources in the Department of Forest, Assam, told The Assam Tribune that although late in coming, the much needed funds would help meet vital needs of the park that is home to a range of endangered species. Spread over 860 sq km, the World Heritage Site has been included in the Project Tiger list after the species faced the greatest threats to its existence in the country.
The just released amount would mainly be used for work covered by non-recurring expenditure. Lack of funds in recent years had seriously hindered development of infrastructure inside the protected area, a situation that could improve now.
According to SN Buragohain, the park director, the funds could be used in repairing roads and bridges which are in a bad shape and hindered park management. New anti-poaching camps might also be built in strategic areas.
He noted that funds would further be used for acquiring arms and ammunition for front line personnel of the park. Recent reports have suggested that poachers in and around the park have been using sophisticated arms, putting pressure on anti-poaching personnel. New firearms and ammunition are likely to raise the morale of the park’s frontline staff.
Sources pointed out that more funds would be available from the Union Government, if this first instalment is utilised in the most appropriate way. At the same time, they pointed out that the State’s finance department has to extend a hand of co-operation.
“It is distressing that Assam’s most important protected area still does not get funds duly released by the Central Government in time...and when it does it is either late or an amount that is smaller than what was released by Delhi,” said a senior official of the Forest Department.
While official recognition of Kaziranga as a Project Tiger has added to its stature, on the crucial area of trained manpower there has been no significant development. Till now frontline personnel of the park have not received good exposure to specialised knowledge or skills related to tiger conservation.
Although highly dedicated, and equipped with adequate knowledge about rhinos and their habitat, the frontline staff are still unaware about how to monitor or manage a tiger habitat. Officials at Kaziranga revealed that the park does not even maintain a record of tiger sightings at its various ranges even though they are spotted by forest personnel now and then.
Park director Buragohain, acknowledging the need for better training of field-level staff, reasoned that orientation camps would empower them with requisite skills. The personnel could be sent to well-managed Project Tiger sites or experts could be invited to fulfil such functions, he added.
The need for training has gained added urgency with nine tiger deaths reported from the park within a short period. In the last 100 days, nine tiger deaths were reported from the protected area.
