Rajasthan Wildlife Board Approves Sariska Tiger Reserve Boundary Changes

Jaipur, June 24 (PTI): The Rajasthan Wildlife Board has approved a proposal to adjust the boundaries of the Sariska Tiger Reserve's Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH). This proposal is now set to be reviewed by the National Board for Wildlife, officials revealed on Tuesday.

The adjustment plan involves modifying the CTH boundaries by removing certain areas affected by human activities, particularly hilly regions, and replacing these with buffer zones. This move is expected to benefit several marble and dolomite mines that were previously shut down following a Supreme Court order issued earlier this year. Rajasthan's Head of the Forest Force, Arijit Banerjee, confirmed the approval of this boundary rationalization proposal during the Wildlife Board Meeting on Monday.

However, Banerjee did not specify how many mines would benefit from this boundary realignment. These mines are located in and around the villages of Khoh, Palpur, Tilwad, Gordhanpura, Mallana, Doondpuri, Jaisinghpura, and Kalwar.

According to the proposal, areas removed from the CTH, primarily hill tracts impacted by human activity, will be incorporated into the buffer zone of the tiger reserve. These buffer zones will not be considered part of the sanctuary or national park. The conversion is intended to help build better relationships between the local communities and the tiger reserve management. The Supreme Court's earlier order had addressed the issues of unrestricted access for people and private vehicles within the tiger reserve.

In 2024, the court instructed the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to report on the situation. After receiving the CEC's recommendations in July 2024, the Rajasthan government accepted them. Consequently, the Supreme Court directed the state to complete the boundary rationalization within a year.

The updated proposal is now scheduled for consideration by the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL) during their meeting in Dehradun on June 26. Some forest department officials, under condition of anonymity, have expressed concerns about the proposed boundary changes. They argue that excluding peripheral hills could disrupt the internal connectivity of the tiger reserve.

The Sariska Tiger Reserve, according to them, relies heavily on the connectivity provided by the finger-shaped hills in its southern regions, which play a crucial role in maintaining tiger movement between sections of the reserve. The initial boundary limits for the CTH were defined by Rajasthan for Sariska in 2007-08, but the notification was delayed due to ongoing disputes over land parcels.

Both the state's forest minister, Sanjay Sharma, and Union Environment Minister, Bhupendra Yadav, are elected representatives from Alwar, and have been actively involved in addressing this complex issue.

(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)