Tigers take a back seat post split

The Times of India , Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Correspondent : Rohit Pillandi
The bifurcation of the state has put the tigers of Telangana in peril. With the chaos of division yet to settle, the state's two tiger reserves - Kawal and Nagarjunasagar (NSTR) - are missing key officials and are yet to receive funding for this year.

Both the tiger reserves are part of the National Tiger Conservation Authority's (NCTA) Project Tiger, but are administered by the Telangana forest department. The reserves usually receive their budgetary allocation by July every year, but thanks to bifurcation, they are still waiting.

"The Centre sanctioned Rs 1.38 crore for Kawal in May for 2014-15, out of which Rs 52.5 lakh was released to undivided Andhra Pradesh as first instalment. However, owing to the bifurcation, the funds have not yet been devolved to the Kawal reserve. The Telangana government has received the funds from the AP government, but it has not disbursed it to the reserve," a source in the forest department said.

According to a May 19 order by the ministry of environment and forests, which allocated the funds, the money is meant for maintenance of anti-poaching squads in core and buffer areas of the reserve, a base camp with five tribal helpers, and payment for service of animal trackers and allowances for Project Tiger staff. The lack of funding may prove serious given that sand mining and poaching is a recognized problem in Kawal.

Meanwhile, officials said the lack of funding has affected the day-to-day functioning of NSTR. In undivided AP, the tiger reserve spread across four forest divisions. Post bifurcation, two divisions - Achampet forest division in Mahbubnagar and some part of Nagarjunsagar division towards the west of Macharla - fall under Telangana.

Additional principal chief conservator of forests, Syam Prasad, said that funds can be obtained only after the forest department settles after the bifurcation process. "A new action plan has to be drafted for tiger conservation in Telangana. From our side, we have to submit the plan to the Centre to procure funds," he said.

Moreover, key posts like field directors are yet to be filled up by the government. The forest officer who served as field director of NSTR in undivided AP was allocated to the residual state, leaving the Telangana part of the reserve headless. And instead of concentrating on this, the Telangana government is said to be besieged with the task of renaming the reserve.

Meanwhile, Kawal, which completely falls in Telangana, is being managed by Janaram divisional forest officer (DFO) ever since its declaration as a tiger reserve in 2012, in contravention to the NCTA recommendations that an officer of the level of chief conservator of forests be appointed as field director.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Hyderabad/Tigers-take-a-back-seat-post-split/articleshow/43180198.cms
 


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