The foundation which is believed to be the core establishment for the protection and conservation of big cats has been facing the apathy of the former governments in the state. Until now, the draft copy of the foundation has been rejected over 10 times at various levels in the previous government. The Union ministry for forest and environment has been asking the Jharkhand government to constitute Tiger Conservation Foundation since 2008.

Forest secretary of state Alka Tiwari expressed hope that the matter would get the nod of the government this time. "The government has taken the matter very seriously," said Tiwari.

A couple of days ago, the forest secretary forwarded the file which contained the draft copy of the foundation to the advisor to the governor, Madhukar Gupta.

Sources said Gupta is interested in the matter and has expressed his willingness to champion the cause for the conservation of the big cats. The file has been forwarded to the finance department for now. After the finance department clears it, the matter would be put before the cabinet for approval.

Every state is required to establish reserve specific Tiger Conservation Foundation under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 as amended in 2006. The state is home to one of the nine original tiger reserves in the country, the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR). Due to poor conservation and protection, the number of tigers have declined considerably due to poaching and other administrative loopholes.

D S Srivastava, member of the steering committee of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), said it was high time that Jharkhand establishes the tiger conservation foundation. "Many states have already established it. It has been formed in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and other states," said Srivastava.

The foundation would be a boon for PTR, which has been pushed to the wall to protect tigers. Section 38X of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 2006 says that tiger foundation would facilitate and support management of the reserve, apart from taking initiatives for involving people in conservation.

"The establishment of the foundation would be a boon for PTR, said PTR field director SHE Kazmi. "The matter is being chased since 2008 but it is still to become a reality. We are keeping our fingers crossed," said Kazmi.

The tiger foundation can accept donations from individual and agencies, including foreign agencies as permitted by law. All the central funds would come to the foundation directly. The foundation would handle all income of the PTR and use it for development. It can provide incentives to informers and those who help detect poaching. It can employ local youths for fire protection and cattle grazing by the locals.

Sources said most of the conservation and management work remains incomplete due to bureaucratic hurdles. At times, funds are not released by the forest department officials in time. At times they sit on a certain proposal for so long that it loses its relevance. "The tiger conservation foundation would be a solution to all," said a source.

It would have a governing body which would include forest minister as its president, forest secretary as vice-president, PCCF as member secretary among other officials. It would be an autonomous body registered under the Registration of Societies Act, 1860.