Jaipur, June 29 (IANS) The Rajasthan government's failure to speed up relocation of villages inside the two tiger reserves in the state has once again raised doubts over its decisiveness to protect the majestic cats, experts say.
Since the relocation was announced in 2008, the forest department has been able to shift only three of the 92 villages falling inside the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar district and the Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur district.
In 2005, the forest department had planned to shift these villages after tigers in Sariska were completely wiped out on account of poaching.
The man-animal conflict inside the reserves pose a serious threat to the wild cat, as the villagers often poison the tigers to protect their livestock and families.
According to wildlife experts, Rajasthan has around 45 tigers left.
"One village - Bhagani - has been shifted from Sariska, while Indala and Machanki have been moved from Ranthambore since 2008. The process of relocating six villages from Sariska and seven from Ranthambore is underway," a forest department officer told IANS.
However, the department is yet to start relocation of the remaining villages.
"With this pace, the government might never be able to shift all villages and this poses a serious threat for the wildlife," said Babu Lal Jaju, state incharge of NGO People for Animals.
The state government had faced widespread protests in 2004-05 when it was reported that Sariska did not have any tigers left.
A report in March 2005 by the Wildlife Institute of India confirmed that poaching had wiped out the wild cat population.
Facing flak from different quarters, the state government decided to relocate tigers from Ranthambore to Sariska. From 2008, five tigers, including two males, have been relocated to the reserve.
However, in November 2010, the first relocated tiger died due to poisoning.
Experts say lopsided land acquisition too has slowed down the relocation process, but the state government disagrees.
"We give Rs.10 lakh and land as compensation to each relocated family, but the consent of the family is required. In many cases, we don't get it, so it becomes hard for us to convince the villagers to shift," said the forest officer.
"We are discussing steps to speed up the process and will soon implement them," he added.
Ranthambore National Park, which covers an area of around 400 sq km, is one of the finest tiger reserves in the country. The park's abandoned fortress, lakes and above all, around 40 majestic tigers, have made it one of the most filmed wildlife reserves in the world.
The park is also home to animals like the jackal, mongoose, sloth bear and leopard.
Sawai Madhopur is some 175 km from state capital Jaipur.
Sariska, originally a hunting preserve of the erstwhile princely state of Alwar, was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955.
It was declared a tiger reserve in 1978. Spread over 866 sq. km, the area also has animals like leopards, jungle cats, hyenas, jackals, sambars, langurs, wild boars, four-horned deer and many species of birds.
It is located some 110 km from Jaipur.
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