BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government’s proposal to resume tiger re-introduction in Satkosia Tiger Reserve has received in-principal approval of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
The approval came after the Forest department complied with the apex body’s recommendations. The government will now assess the ground situation before proceeding on the matter, officials of the Wildlife Wing said.
PCCF wildlife and chief wildlife warden (CWW) Prem Kumar Jha acknowledged that the department has received NTCA’s in-principle approval to re-implement the project which was stalled in 2018. “The state government will assess the situation and take appropriate decision in this regard,” he said.
After failure of Odisha’s first tiger translocation project in Satkosia in 2018, the state wildlife wing approached NTCA again and submitted a proposal for resumption of the project in 2023-24. The NTCA then sent a five-member central committee in May 2024 to reassess the feasibility of re-initiating the project.
Based on recommendations of the committee, the apex tiger conservation body agreed for re-introduction plan provided the state complied with the action points and recommendations of the panel.
The recommendations included pre-requisites such as voluntary relocation of villages, prey augmentation, creation of inviolate space, capacity-building of staff and enhancement of protection measures.
The tiger reserve, spread over 1,136 square km, has a core area of 523 sq km. In 2018, a pair of tigers was brought from Madhya Pradesh but the male was found dead in a poacher’s snare a few months later in Satkosia. The female, Sundari, was caught in man-animal conflict and captured before being sent back to its home state.
In February, following allegations of illegal and forceful relocation, the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) ordered suspension of the exercise on grounds of procedural lapses and rights violation.
The PCCF wildlife said following the in-principle approval, the Forest department will assess the emerging situation before moving to the MoEFCC to seek its final approval for translocation of tigers.
Meanwhile, the apex tiger conservation body is said to have advised the forest department to wait before moving forward with the second phase tiger supplementation in Similipal.
Jha said the department had sought approval to proceed with the Phase-II tiger supplementation project in Similipal but no approval to this effect has been received as yet. “We have been asked to wait and monitor the progress of the first phase implementation and then move with the second phase accordingly,” he said.
The first phase of tiger supplementation was carried out to attempt genetic rescue of Similipal’s tiger population through supplementation in which tigress Tadoba-born Zeenat gave birth to four cubs.
The success story was shared with the MoEFCC during a national workshop organised in Rajasthan’s Alwar district to mark 18 years of country’s first reintroduction of tigers at Sariska Tiger Reserve, Jha said.