PATNA: Bihar government, it appears, gives a damn to issues concerning wildlife. Had it not been the case, the government would not have chosen to skip the three-day meeting convened by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to review the tiger protection strategy.
On April 10, NTCA officials discussed the issue with forest officials of northern and north-eastern states. Central region states' forest officials shared their views on April 11 and on the last day on April 12, it was the turn of those coming from the southern states.
The meeting assumes significance for Bihar as its only tiger reserve, the Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR), has seen a gradual decline in the number of big cats since it came into existence in 1989-90. At the time of its creation, it was home to an estimated 81 tigers. The figure came down to 53 in 1997. According to the latest census conducted in 2006, VTR has between seven to 13 tigers only. A suspected case of poisoning of a tiger was reported from the reserve as early as last month.
"All the other sixteen states, which have one or more tiger reserves, sent their representatives but Bihar didn't," an NTCA official, preferring anonymity, told TOI over phone on Monday. He said the matter would be taken up with the state government.
When contacted, Bihar's environment and forest department principal secretary Jayaram Lal Meena told TOI the chief wildlife warden (CWW) and the director of VTR did seek permission for attending the meeting. "The permission could not be granted due to unavoidable reasons," Meena said and added while the CWW was changed just few days before the meeting, the application of VTR's project director could not be processed in time.
He, however, said the state would be in constant touch with the NTCA to seek guidelines for improving the condition of the reserve.
NTCA too appears to be in a collaborative mood. "We would send the outcome of the deliberations to the state so that it could be used for the Valmiki reserve," he said.
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