Porvorim: The provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, are similar to the safeguards available for a
tiger reserve
,
forest minister
Vishwajit Rane said in a reply tabled in the assembly on Thursday.
The minister said that considering the large number of people living in and around these
protected areas
, declaring these forests a tiger reserve will not serve any purpose.
He said that after the killing of four tigers came to light in 2020, many measures were put in place for the protection of tigers inside
Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary
. The steps include, he said, the establishment of eight more
anti-poaching camps
, the strengthening of the wireless network, and 24/7 patrolling with the help of local volunteers.
Rane said that the State Board for Wildlife, in its meeting chaired by chief minister Pramod Sawant on July 12, 2023, had noted that “legal provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act with respect to the protection for protected areas including a wildlife sanctuary, national park, etc and that for a tiger reserve are almost similar”.
Rane added, “…the board unanimously resolved that the declaration of already notified protected areas in Goa as a tiger reserve, which as per National Tiger Conservation Authority guidelines should be an inviolate area, will not serve any significant purpose.”
Neither will such a declaration be feasible, Rane said, in the context of relatively small protected areas and large human populations living in and around these zones.
The minister also said in the reply that declaring a tiger reserve will not have any impact on the status of protection of the waters of the Mhadei.
“The flow of water of the stretch of the Mhadei river falling within Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary is already protected under the ambit of Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972,” he said.
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