TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests’ survey, which reported the presence of five tigers in Goa’s eastern mountain range, has boosted environmentalists’ call for declaring Mhadei wildlife sanctuary, as a tiger reserve.
A fresh demand to declare the core of the sanctuary as ‘tiger reserve’ would be placed before the National Wildlife Board (NWB), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Environmentalist and member of NWB Rajendra Kerkar has decided to petition the MoEF and the State government to declare Mhadei wildlife sanctuary as tiger reserve, following proper conditions laid down by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
“It was a known fact that the sanctuary is a tiger habitat. This fresh survey by MoEF has authenticated this. I would urge the government to take this survey into consideration and declare the core of the sanctuary as a tiger reserve,” he said.
Mhadei wildlife sanctuary, is a 208 sq kms protected area in the Western Ghats.
Kerkar, who has been urging the State government to consider the proposal, said that though the Mhadei sanctuary has over 1000 people residing in the protected areas, the core area, which is frequented by tigers, has no human population.
“Even the national tiger conservation authority has proposed to rehabilitate people from the protected areas or to safeguard the interest of these people once the area is declared as tiger project,” he explained.
The State Forest department is currently undertaking a tiger census to ascertain the existence of wild cats and the same will continue till 2017.
Environmentalist Nirmal Kulkarni also believes that the MoEF’s findings will give a boost to the pending demand to make Mhadei a tiger reserve.
“This is one step closer to the demand. The fact that there is the presence of tigers cannot be ignored,” he said, adding “at the same time, there is a further need for a long term study to prove breeding population of tigers in the Mhadei area.”
The Forest department survey carried out in April 2014, had shown the presence of tigers in the State. Also the 2010 and 2013 censuses had surprised observers with the claim of presence of five tigers in Goa’s wild, and an increased number of leopards and wild dogs.
MoEF since 2011 had been asking the State to submit a proposal to declare Mhadei wildlife sanctuary as a tiger reserve. The MoEF proposal was supported by NWB and National Tiger Conservation Authority. Even in 2014, the State was asked to submit a fresh proposal. But the State did not show any interest in taking the proposal forward.
