PANJIM: The Bombay High Court at Goa on Thursday issued notices to the State government and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Goa Foundation in connection with the declaration of a tiger reserve in Goa.
This PIL, filed on behalf of the tiger population and associated wildlife of the Western Ghats, seeks directions to the government to notify a tiger reserve for the tigers of the State and of adjoining wildlife sanctuaries. Petitioner Claude Alvares of NGO Goa Foundation said that the urgent relief is sought in the wake of the tragic killing of four tigers in Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary in January 2020.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
“The purposeful killing has also revealed the urgent need for better management of the protected areas in the State and of tiger-human conflicts. These form an integral habitat for the tigers in Goa and in the rest of the contiguous Western Ghats complex. The recommendation to declare a tiger reserve for the tiger population of the State has now been made multiple times by the National Tiger Conservation Authority in 2011 and 2016. The government is bound to act on these recommendations, as per Section 38 (5) (i) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972,” he said.
A recent investigation by a two-member team constituted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to inquire into the deaths unequivocally recommended declaration of a tiger reserve in the State, failing which, according to it, Goa could become a “death trap” for tigers.
The High Court while issuing the notices has asked the respondents to file their affidavits prior to taking up the matter on August 24, 2020.
In the petition, Alvares stated that on the recommendation of the NTCA, a proposal is to be prepared by the State to be put forward before the State Board for Wildlife. On approval of the Board, the proposal is to be sent to the NTCA for approval. He stated that evidenced by the documents on record, a draft proposal has already been prepared in 2018, but no further action has been taken and that no justifiable reason is found for the abject inaction to notify the tiger reserve thereafter.
The contiguous forests of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra and the reserve forests and wildlife sanctuary of Radhanagari in Karnataka, Chandoli National Park and the reserve forests of Purna and Dodamarg in Maharashtra have been named as Tiger Conservation Units (TCU).
