The Madhya Pradesh (MP) Wildlife Board approved a new reserve for the tigers of Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) named ‘Durgavati Tiger Reserve’, which spans 2,339 square kilometres (sq. km) across the districts of Narisinghpur, Damoh, and Sagar in MP.
- The proposal to notify 1,414 sq. km as the core area and 925 sq. km as a buffer in the new tiger reserve was approved at the Board meeting, which was presided over by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of MP.
It should be emphasised that the Ken-Betwa River Interlinking (KBRIL) Project will result in the submergence of one-fourth of PTR.
Key Points:
i.The proposal will be submitted to NTCA seeking final approval.
ii.A green corridor connecting PTR and Durgavati will be established, for the natural movement of the tiger (Panthera tigris) to the new reserve.
iii.Durgavati Wildlife Sanctuary serves as a green corridor for Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and will shelter excess tigers from the reserve.
- Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary (MP), which includes five tigers, is a corridor between Satpura Tiger Reserve and PTR.
Background: The Need to Establish a New Tiger Reserve
i.Following the KBRIL project, the NTCA had directed the state governments of UP and MP to notify the additional tiger reserves as part of a wildlife management plan for Panna.
ii.The UP cabinet approved the notification of the state’s fourth tiger reserve at the Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary (RWS) in the Chitrakoot district on September 27, 2022.
- The other 3 are: Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Lakhimpur district, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve in Pilibhit district, and Amangarh Tiger Reserve in Bijnor district.
iii.The two protected areas are only 150 km apart, with RWS having no tigers of its own but being visited by tigers from nearby PTR.
Ken-Betwa River Interlinking (KBRIL) Project
KBRIL is a river-interlinking project that envisions passing surplus water from the Ken river in MP to Betwa in Uttar Pradesh (UP) to irrigate the drought-prone Bundelkhand region.
- Both Ken and Betwa are the tributaries of the Yamuna.
With the assistance of the Centre, the state governments of UP & MP are implementing a Rs. 44,605 crore river-linking project to end the Bundelkhand region’s water crisis.
Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR), MP
i.Panna is home to 54 tigers and the largest number of vultures in Central India.
- PTR is widely recognised as one of India’s most important and successful tiger recovery reserves.
ii.The tiger population has increased from 0 in 2009 to 54 in 2019 as a result of a species recovery plan that was intended to reinforce the tiger population.
- Tigers were reintroduced to PTR in a historic step after it lost all of its tigers to organised poachers in 2009.
iii.PTR was recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2020 as a crucial tiger habitat and included to the world network of biosphere reserves.
Recent Related News:
The Uttar Pradesh (UP) cabinet, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has approved the “first” Tiger Reserve in the ‘Bundelkhand region’ to promote tiger conservation in UP. The cabinet approved the decision to designate Ranipur Tiger Reserve under section 38(v) of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, which had previously been notified as Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary in the Chitrakoot district of UP.
About National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA):
The NTCA is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
It is constituted under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006, for strengthening tiger conservation
Chairperson – Bhupender Yadav, Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change
