MYSURU: Chamarajanagar is set to become the first district in the country to have three tiger sanctuaries. With a forest cover of around 51 per cent, it already houses Bandipur and Biligiriranganatha Swamy Temple wildlife sanctuaries. The addition will be MM Hills Tiger Project, which has over 200 tigers.
The new reserve, which has hilly terrains, rich biodiversity and undisturbed areas in Palar and MM Hills, will spread across 1,000 sqkm. Deputy Conservator of Forest Edukundala said the government will notify MM Hills as a tiger reserve in a few days. The government will give an additional grant of Rs 10 crore, which will be used to install solar pumps.