Killing tigers to feed humans

Tarred roads worth Rs 94 crore were proposed ‘‘to facilitate communication’’. Conservationists raised an alarm and brought it down to Rs 10 crore. Debi Goenka’s Bombay Environmental Action Group moved the HC which stayed all developmental projects. But more black-top road proposals are still in the government’s active files, a small dam has come up within the denotified area and a big one proposed on the Tapi river within the MTR proposes to gobble up a 244-hactare pristine patch of the reserve in the north.

Moreover, Forest Minister Babanrao Pachpute recently announced plans for bamboo-cutting and a 1,100-km fireline work to provide long-term employment to Korku tribals, whose migration for jobs has been the main cause of malnutrition.

‘‘Such projects aren’t needed here since malnutrition affects mainly the Dharni tahsil, and MTR lies in Chikhaldara tahsil,’’ argues Kishor Rithe, who runs NGO Nature Conservation Society at Amravati. ‘‘They are creating a hostile atmosphere for wildlife,’’ Rithe, who also heads Bombay Natural History Society’s (BNHS) conservation cell, alleges.

In 2002, Rithe’s survey had prompted then Lok Ayukta V P Tipnis to probe the matter. Tipnis later passed strictures against the authorities for the developmental activities within the reserve.

‘‘The state highway passing through the sanctuary was broadened following the malnutrition alarm. This increased traffic to Khandwa and Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh manifold. Every day, many protected species animals get killed under the vehicles. And yet, more road proposal are sought to be pushed,’’ Rithe says. ‘‘Roads also hamper the animal movements. Tigers can’t walk properly on tarred tops and often burn their paws in the hot Melghat summer. And above all, roads gives mobility to poachers.”

Poachers’ gangs from Madhya Pradesh have been active and, Rithe says, poor tiger sighting here is a cause for serious concern.

The Forest Department, however, says, ‘‘undulations affect sighting in MTR’’. Also, it makes tiger killing difficult for poachers, unlike in Sariska, which is mostly a plain area.

New Field Director Nitin Kakodkar, architect of the spectacular Tadoba Tiger Reserve conservation work, claims there are nearly 90 tigers in his area. ‘‘That’s the estimate of the survey by Ulhas Karath’s NGO,’’ he says. But, he admits, the number declines ‘‘as you go away from the core area’’.

Kakodkar also stresses that malnutrition isn’t MTR’s problem and that tarred roads are a conservation hurdle. ‘‘All-weather roads with murum top can serve the purpose. Moreover, we can provide 200 years of maintenance jobs over a murum-top road.’’

Incidentally, a lot of roads still remain covered with metal due to lack of maintenance by the Forest Department, giving the villagers a bumpy ride.

Second-time BJP MLA Rajkumar Patel strongly advocates developmental projects. ‘‘Forty-three villages inside the reserve lose contact with the outside world for four months during rains. Don’t they require tar roads?’’ he asks.

But, as both agree, developmental activities are certainly not advisable as per strict wildlife management rules. And an optimistic Kakodkar believes, shifting of the 19 villages from the sanctuary area and providing conservation-compatible developmental inputs to the 39 villages in the MUA are the best bets for the Melghat tiger.