PANJIM: A division bench of the Bombay High Court at Goa today issued a notice to the state government and to the National Tiger Conservation Authority on PIL filed by the Goa Foundation in connection with the declaration of a tiger reserve in the state of Goa.
This PIL is filed in public interest on behalf of the tiger population and associated wildlife of the Western Ghats, seeking directions to the Government of Goa to notify a tiger reserve for the tigers of the state and of adjoining wildlife sanctuaries. This urgent relief is sought in the wake of the tragic killing of 4 tigers in Madei Wildlife Sanctuary in January, 2020.
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 PAs of Goa 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.
A recent investigation by a two-member team constituted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to inquire into the 4 tiger deaths has also unequivocally recommended the declaration of a tiger reserve in the state, failing which, according to it, Goa could become a “death trap” for tigers.
The Court has asked the respondents to file their affidavits, prior to taking up the matter on 24 August, 2020.
