Tiger Reserve decision after 3 years; ‘relief’ for forest ‘business’
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 08 January 2016 17:40 IST
Three tigers have been identified in Goa’s forest so far, but it would take at least three more years to decide whether Mhadei wildlife sanctuary should be declared as Tiger Reserve.
The issue is pertinent since no commercial activity is permitted in the Tiger Reserve, thus an ‘obstacle’ for iron ore mining, stone crushers, quarry mining and may be even eco-tourism.
The move to declare ore-rich Mhadei wildlife sanctuary is thus being opposed from several quarters and gets echoed in the Assembly through their representatives, no matter which party they belong to.
Forest and Environment minister Rajendra Arlekar, after launching revived website of the forest department, said the decision would be taken only after the final report in this regard is submitted.
Wildlife Protection Society of India is conducting a thorough survey on the presence of tigers in Goa’s forest.
“It will take three more years to complete the five-year long survey”, said Arlekar.
Meantime, Goa government has also sought an interim report on the survey, which would be submitted next year, he said.
Environmentalists are demanding especially Mhadei wildlife sanctuary as Tiger Reserve since it adjoins the Dandeli wildlife sanctuary in Karnataka and functions as a corridor for tigers.
While conducting wildlife census, the forest department officials had installed trapped cameras and found presence of at least three tigers.
