In May 2025, the state government of Telangana has officially declared the tiger corridor area connecting the Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR) in the state with the Tadoba-Andhari (TATR) in Maharashtra as ‘Kumram Bheem Conservation Reserve’, as per Section 36 (A) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- With this declaration, the focus will now shift to bolstering tiger conservation efforts in the reserve which includes dedicated funding and the recruitment of additional personnel to support protection and management initiatives.
About Kumram Bheem Conservation Reserve:
i.The proposed Kumram Bheem Conservation Reserve covers the total area of 1,492.88 square kilometers (sq. km), which is spread across the Kagaznagar and Asifabad forest divisions in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district, and 78 reserve forest blocks.
ii.It also forms a critical link in the wildlife corridor connecting Kawal TR with TATR, Kanhargaon, Tippeshwar, and Chaprala Wildlife Sanctuaries (WLSs) in Maharashtra as well as with Indravati TR in Chhattisgarh.
iii.Other than tigers, the proposed conservation reserve is a natural habitat to a variety of other carnivores like: leopards, wild dog, sloth bear, wolf, hyena, among others , and also supports diverse prey such as: gaur, sambar, nilgai, chital, four-horned antelope.
- Also, it is home to over 240 bird species, including the Malabar Pied Hornbills, and Long Billed Vulture, for which it is the only nesting site.
About Conservation Reserve Committee:
i.The state government has also constituted a 12-member Conservation Reserve Management Committee, with Kumram Bheem Asifabad Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) serving as the member secretary or convener of the committee.
ii.Besides DFO, other members of the proposed committee: representatives from 3 Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India State Director, and Wildlife Conservation Trust.
- The Sarpanches of Karji, Motlaguda, Murliguda, and Kammergaon panchayats.
- It also includes District Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Officer, District Agricultural Officer, and DFOs of Asifabad and Kagaznagar as members.
Points to Note:
i.Section 36(A) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 empowers the state government to declare any areas owned by it, particularly in areas adjacent to the National Parks (NPs) and sanctuaries and those areas which link one protected area with another as conservation reserve for protecting landscapes, flora and fauna and their habitat.
ii.Currently, there are total 58 TRs in India. Madhav National Park (NP) in Madhya Pradesh (MP) was declared the 58th TR by the Government of India (GoI) in March 2025.
