Mumbai, April 11:

For the long-term sustenance of forests across Maharashtra, the State government has decided to adopt the eco-tourism model that has been implemented in the Tadoba-Andhari tiger reserve near Nagpur.

The model is being replicated across the Nagzira and Bor wildlife sanctuaries in Gondia and Wardha districts respectively, the Melghat Tiger reserve in Amravati and the Bhimashankar wildlife sanctuary in Pune district.

Relocation

The model involves relocation of villages from the core areas of the forest, creating tourism dependent livelihoods and providing alternative source of fuel such as cooking gas for the villagers. At present, villagers use firewood sourced from the forests.

The State has four major tiger reserves, six national parks and 36 wildlife sanctuaries. It adds up to 15,732 sq km or about 5.02 per cent of the State’s geographical area.

In the last one year, the Forest Department of Maharashtra has been working in the villages, which are in the buffer zones of these forest areas. Simultaneously, the department has taken steps to improve the tourist infrastructure in these areas.

A buffer zone is an area contiguous to the forests but has human settlement.

The Tadoba-Andhari, Nagzira, Bor and Melghat forest areas have a sizable tiger population, which attract a large number of tourists. The giant Malabar squirrel and golden jackal are found only in the Bhimashankar forest.

Proactive steps

State Forest Secretary Praveen Pardeshi told Business Line that following the creation of ‘Tiger Force’, an armed force for protecting the wildcats, regular anti-poaching patrols and other proactive measures, the number of tigers in these areas has increased considerably.

“In 2011, there were 160-170 tigers in these areas. The number rose to nearly 200 early this year,” he said.

Pardeshi said that in order to reduce the man-animal conflict, villages in the core areas of the forest have been completely relocated, while cattle grazing has been banned inside the forest.

About 39,000 families have also been provided with subsidised cooking gas, so that they do not enter the forest for firewood. The subsidy will be provided for next four years. The cost of about 75 per cent cost of the gas cylinders is borne by the government and the rest by the villagers, Pardeshi said.

“In the Tadoba-Andhari tiger reserve, only 117 vehicles are allowed from the main gate of the reserve. The rest of the vehicles are allowed inside the forest from the villages in the buffer zone. These vehicles are charged about Rs 1,000 per safari. This income goes to local villagers,” he said.

The forest guest houses, which were in a state of neglect for many years, are now being spruced up. Their management has been transferred to the Forest Development Corporation, Pardeshi added.

Prince Tulli, director of The Tuli Group, which has a number of forest lodges and hotels, said Maharashtra’s forest tourism could boom if the State government, private companies and local villagers teamed up and worked together.