On Tuesday (October 5), the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) approved the Chhattisgarh government’s proposal to declare the combined areas of Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary as tiger reserves.
The new reserve is located in the northern part of the state bordering Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. This will be the fourth tiger reserve in Chhattisgarh after Udanti-Sitanadi, Achanakmar and Indravati reserves.
The proposal was considered by the 11th Technical Committee of NTCA on 1 September and approved under Section 38V(1) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 a month later. (“Tiger Conservation Plan: The State Government may, on the recommendation of the Tiger Conservation Authority, notify any area as a tiger reserve.”)
a decade in the making
The Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary was identified in 2011 as part of the Sarguja Jashpur Elephant Reserve. Guru Ghasidas National Park used to be part of Sanjay National Park in undivided Madhya Pradesh. Both were recognized as Reserved Forests, and were in line to be notified as Tiger Reserves since 2011.
medium sized reserve
The constituent units of the new Tiger Reserve, Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary, are spread over 1,44,000 hectares (1,440 sq km) and 60,850 hectares (608.5 sq km), respectively.
Guru Ghasidas National Park is in Korea District; Tamor Pingla is in Surajpur district in the north-west corner of Chhattisgarh.
importance, importance
Guru Ghasidas National Park was the last known habitat of Asiatic cheetahs in the country. Originally part of the Sanjay Dubri National Park, Guru Ghasidas Park was created as a separate entity in the Surguja region of Chhattisgarh after the formation of the state in 2001.
the former BJP The state government had decided to make the Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary in the northern part of the state part of a larger elephant corridor, and move to Bhoramdeo Wildlife Sanctuary in the center of the state to gain approval as a tiger reserve. However, resistance from the local population in Bhoramdeo forced the government to back down from the idea in 2018.
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The Congress government put its weight behind getting approval from NTCA for Guru Ghasidas National Park.
Wildlife experts and activists in the state believe that it is important to convert Guru Ghasidas into a tiger reserve as it connects Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh and provides a corridor for movement of tigers between Bandhavgarh and Palamu Tiger Reserves. .
On the other hand, Bhoramdev connects Indravati Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh to Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh and experts say that the decision to create a tiger reserve in Guru Ghasidas National Park should not affect efforts to notify Bhoramdev as a tiger reserve. needed. very.
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