BHUBANESWAR: The Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) is now waiting for the relocation of only one village from its core area to be declared a full-fledged national park. The presence of human habitation in the core area is the key reason for which the tiger reserve has not been able to meet the criteria set by the government for national park status. The biggest tiger land of the State and fourth-largest tiger habitat in the country is spread over an area of 2,306.61 square km of which only 845.70 sq km have been declared a national park.
However, the recent reply of Forest, Environment and Climate Change (MoEFCC) minister Pradip Kumar Amat in the Assembly reveals that the tiger land now requires the shifting of only one village to be formally accorded the status of a full-fledged national park. The core area of Similipal had six villages of which Jenabil, Jamunagada, Kabatghai and Bakua were revenue villages, while the other two - Barahkamuda and Bahaghar - were settlement villages. Though the State government succeeded in shifting villagers of Jenabil, Kabatghai Barahakamuda and Bahaghar from the core, 61 families in Bakua and another three families of Jamunagada were continuing to inhabit the area till last year.
The forest department, however, has stated that the Jamunagada village has been completely relocated leaving only Bakua in the core area. Efforts are on for relocation of families of Bakua village from the core as per the rehabilitation package of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Voluntary Relocation guidelines of the State government, Amat stated. As per the revised relocation guidelines of the State government, each family is entitled to financial assistance of `15 lakh and other benefits for relocation from protected areas (PAs) such as sanctuaries, national parks (NPs) tiger reserves and inaccessible forest areas. Individual families moving out without availing of the rehabilitation package are also entitled to an incentive of `5 lakh.