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15% cut in funds for tiger reserves across India Shivani Azad | TOI
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DEHRADUN: In what might come as a double whammy for tiger reserves across the country this year, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has decided to slash funds by 15% for each state, officials in the know said.
Already, the prime tiger tourism season from March to June 15 has fallen flat due to the lockdown. Park officials are worried that conservation efforts would suffer amid alert issued by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB).
In Uttarakhand, Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) earns about Rs 10.5 crore per annum and Rajaji Tiger Reserve (RTR) earns around Rs 54 lakh a year from tourism-related activities. Earnings have taken a dip because of the lockdown for the otherwise self-sustaining tiger reserves.
Uttarakhand was sanctioned around Rs 25 crore in the previous year by the NTCA, according to officials.
Directors of Tiger Reserves feel reduced funds will adversely affect infrastructure-related works in the protected areas.
With the monsoon season round the corner, important road construction work will suffer. Internal road connectivity inside reserves is essential during the rainy season for effective patrolling to check poaching and other anti-forest activities.
A source in the forest department said NTCA itself didn't get its full share of funds and, hence, it has no other option but to further cut funds for the states.
Incidentally, budget of NTCA has been reducing since the past four years. For 2016-17, its budget was Rs 348.74 crore; for 2017-18, it was Rs 345 crore; for 2018-19, it was Rs 323.44 crore.
In 2019-20, it was just Rs 280.66 crore. For 20-21, it has already indicated that the fund would be curtailed further. In 2019-20, NTCA had approved Rs 17 crore for CTR. For 2020-21, it has already indicated that the fund would be curtailed further.
In 2019-20, NTCA had approved Rs 17 crore for CTR. “The cost-cutting measure has been taken as the lockdown has hit various sectors. May be, NTCA is also trying to strike a balance by pruning the funds by up to 15% for all the reserves,” said Rajiv Bhartari, chief wildlife warden of Uttarakhand forest department.
Any fund crunch will hit hardest the half of India's tigers that dwell in the forests outside protected reserves.
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Besides, the prime minister’s ambitious project to develop a rescue centre in Ramnagar at Corbett Tiger Reserve has also been hit. “The Covid-19 lockdown has affected all our projects. With NTCA’s decision to cut costs, we will have to re-prioritize things as per the availability of funds,” said Rahul, director of CTR.
Similarly, Rajaji Tiger Reserve, which had sent a proposal to NTCA for Rs 12 crore this year, might also get less. “We are hoping that our reserve will get at least the same amount that we had received the previous year, when Rs 10.13 was sanctioned,” said Amit Verma, director of Rajaji Tiger Reserve.
Surprisingly, NTCA officials are in a ‘denial’ mode. NTCA deputy inspector general (DIG) Nishant Verma said, “I am not aware of any such move, and we are not reducing any funds. The Annual Plan of Operations (APOs) are getting approved like before.”
