Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: Environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar said that Goa government’s motive in challenge the Tiger Reserve declaration order of the High Court of Bombay at Goa which is in the interest of the state, is still unclear.
“Goa government’s motive in challenging the Tiger Reserve declaration order of the High Court which is in the interest of the state, is completely unclear,” said Kerkar.
He asserted that the state govt’s decision to appoint senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi who charges nearly Rs 25 lakh per day is not in the interest of the Goa govt and the Goa State.
“If the area is not declared as Tiger reserve, Goa’s forests will continue to be vulnerable,” he added.
“Tiger are habitats of Goa and not a transit animals and this has been proven often with their sightings across this corridor over the years now. It is high time that government accept this fact and move ahead,” Kerkar said.
According to Kerkar, establishing a tiger reserve does not require a minimum base population. According to him, a territory can be designated as a tiger reserve even in the absence of any wildcats provided it can act as a natural habitat for tigers and has a large enough prey population.
The NTCA’s Status of Tigers 2022 study states that the Western Ghats’ tiger population has decreased from 981 in 2018 to 824 distinct tigers. This decrease contrasts with the same period’s increase in the number of tigers at the national level, which went from 2461 to 3080.
The research states that while tiger populations inside protected areas have either increased or stayed stable, tiger occupancy outside of these areas has dramatically reduced. One place where tiger occupancy has declined is the border region between Goa and Karnataka.
The Goa Government had filed a Special Leave Petition (SLC) in the Supreme Court of India challenging the order of High Court of Bombay at Goa directing the state to declare the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and its surrounding areas as a tiger reserve within three months.
The Government of Goa haD appointed senior counsel and former Advocate General Mukul Rohatgi to challenge the Bombay High Court in Goa order to declare the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and its surrounding areas as a tiger reserve within three months.
The Bombay High Court in Goa was approached in 2020 by the NGO Goa Foundation following death of four tigers including two curbs. The NGO petitioned the court to order the state to implement the NTCA’s directive to establish a tiger reserve in Goa.
At the initial stage of resolving the claims of human settlement under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the procedure of notification of the wildlife sanctuaries (before they are elevated to tiger reserves) is still pending.
