NAGPUR: A proposal to convert Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary in Gondia district into a tiger reserve by making it over 300 sq km from the existing 152 sq km is under active consideration of the state government.
The proposal was submitted to DC Pant, PCCF (wildlife), Maharashtra, recently. He has put up the proposal with the government. Union minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh had on September 15, 2009 already written to the chief minister to declare Nagzira-Navegaon a tiger reserve.
Declaring Nagzira a tiger reserve is also a decade-old demand of conservationists and locals. A state panel, on August 10, 2009, has already approved it as a critical tiger habitat (CTH). Way back in 2002, MP Praful Patel too had written to the PCCF (wildlife) to extend the area of Nagzira for the purpose.
Apart from the existing 38 compartments in sanctuary area of around 152 sq km, the fresh proposal includes 38 compartments (126 sq km) of Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM) in Bhandara forest division; 15 compartments (27 sq km) of Gondia territorial division and 113 hectares of Thadezari, a relocated village in compartment 101 inside the sanctuary. The total area of the proposed reserve will be 308 sq km.
"The proposal is under consideration but will take some time. It is a long drawn process. Under the new NTCA guidelines, to maintain a viable population of 80-100 tigers (in and around core areas), require an inviolate space of 800-1,000 sq km and hence the extension of areas holding tiger potential," said Pant.
Conservationists said looking at Nagzira`s tiger potential, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) had recommended in 1988 to upgrade the sanctuary into a national park. A committee on reorganisation on boundaries for wildlife sanctuaries and national parks under Ranjit Sinh had also made a similar recommendation.
The proposal states that Nagzira has strong linkages and hence is a fit case of tiger reserve. Nagzira, which is just 122 km from Nagpur, is connected to Pench tiger reserve (70 km), Kanha (150 km); Navegaon (30 km); Tadoba-Andhari (150 km) and Indravati tiger reserve (200 km). The forest is contiguous and is still a corridor.
On Nagzira potential, the proposal states that Kanha, Navegaon, Indravati, Tadoba and Pench with around 50,000 sq km forest area, will perhaps be the biggest tiger conservation areas in world. The sanctuary is home to many endangered species, including 34 mammals, 202 birds and 36 reptiles.
Nagzira-Navegaon reserve will hold tremendous tourism potential and bring in huge revenue besides jobs for locals. It will also bring in funds for conservation and wildlife protection from the Centre. Tour operators said it is not only Nagzira-Navegaon, places like Darekasa and Dongargarh can also be a star-attraction.
Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh, during his visit to the city on September 13, had made his intentions clear to declare Nagzira-Navegaon as another tiger reserve of the state.
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