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Maharashtra reserves a forest for elephants which came from Karnataka State, in the area of Tillari in Sindhudurg District, besides leopards and tigers: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/maharash...ka-2251137, https://indianexpress.com/article/cities...e-6473276/, https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/ma...BntCL.html

A government notification said 2,953.38 hectares of forest land in Sindhudurg would be a "reserved forest" for "conservation of tiger, elephant and leopard". The 38-km-long Dodamarg wildlife corridor that connects Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra to Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka frequently witnesses elephant and tiger movement.

All India | Reported by Saurabh Gupta, Edited by Nonika Marwaha (with inputs from PTI) | Updated: June 23, 2020 11:52 pm IST | Written by Sanjana Bhalerao | Mumbai | Published: June 24, 2020 4:13:40 am

Tillari is a forest located in the hilly ranges of Konkan-Western Ghats corridor:
   

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Tuesday declared almost 3,000 hectares of Tillari forest land as a conservation reserve for elephants who had wandered into Sindhudurg district from neighbouring Karnataka almost two decades ago. Tilari is a forest located in the hilly ranges of Konkan-Western Ghats corridor. It is located 492 km from Pune in Belgaun district of Karnataka, bordering the forests of Goa and Maharashtra.

A government notification said 2,953.38 hectares or 29.53 square-km area of Dodamarg forest range in Sindhudurg district would be a "reserved forest" for "conservation of tiger, elephant and leopard", or ‘Tillari Conservation Reserve’. The decision was taken in view of the area's ecological, fauna and floral significance, it stated. The area covering nine villages in the forest range is known to serve as a corridor and even as a habitat for the population of tigers and elephants moving between the three states of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

According to an official statement, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has said that development in the state will not take place by ignoring wildlife and biodiversity. A committee will be set up for management of that area in Tillari, which will be the first conservation reserve in Sindhudurg district. Maharashtra's Tourism, Environment and Protocol Minister, Aaditya Thackeray tweeted thanking the chief minister for his "crucial push to this project".

Samadhan Chavan, Deputy Conservator of Forests of Sawantwadi in Sindhudurg, told PTI it was the first time that a forest has been reserved for elephants in the state. "This is a huge step as nowhere in Maharashtra a forest or any other area was reserved for elephants till now," Mr Chavan said. Maharashtra is home to 62 conservation reserves, of which 13 are in the Western Ghats. The reserve is also likely to generate employment for locals in the areas, the release stated.

The 38-km-long Dodamarg wildlife corridor that connects Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra to Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka frequently witnesses elephant and tiger movement.

Tillari will be the seventh corridor in the state to be declared as a ‘conservation reserve’. Conservation reserve denotes protected areas which typically act as buffer zones to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved and protected forests. Such areas are designated as conservation areas if they are uninhabited and completely owned by the Government of India but used for subsistence by communities if part of the lands are privately owned.

Girish Punjabi, a wildlife biologist at Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) who is working in the Tillari region, said between 2014 and 2019, seven tigers have been identified in the region. “The land in Tillari which was under the forest department was a reserve forest which basically is less protected. Being declared as a conservation reserve is a step in the right direction and gives it some level of protection from development projects. Tillari area abuts the Mhadei (Goa) and Bhimgad (Karnataka) wildlife sanctuaries. The area is not only a corridor for tiger movement between these sanctuaries but also a habitat,” he said. Reply