BHUBANESWAR: Concerned over curtailment of funds under Project Tiger and Project Elephant in the current fiscal, Odisha is keenly waiting for the outcome of the fresh decision on merger of the two schemes in Union Budget-2023.
Though the Forest, Environment and Climate Change department has readied the Annual Plan of Operations (APO) drafts under Project Tiger and Project Elephant for the new fiscal, sources said the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has asked it to wait till the next round of meeting, likely to take place this month, for submission of budget allocation under the two projects.
Sources said, MoEFCC officials have cited there is an overlapping of activities in many areas due to the presence of both tigers and elephants in same habitats. They have communicated to the wildlife wing of the department that a new format for submission of APO for budgetary allocation will be issued to the state after the meeting. Central funding for the state under Project Tiger and Project Elephant remains a matter of concern.
The government had submitted an APO of Rs 21 crore for Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) and Rs 12 crore for Satkosia Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger and Rs 14 crore under Project Elephant for the 2022-23 (current) fiscal. It, however, has received around Rs 12 crore for Similipal and Rs 6 crore each for Satkosia under Project Tiger and Project Elephant.
For 2023-24 too, the department has prepared an APO of around Rs 25 crore for Similipal Tiger Reserve and Rs 12 crore for Satkosia Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger and Rs 14 crore under Project Elephant. Forest officials said any further curtailment of funds after merger will surely have negative implications. “A clear picture on whether the funding will be curbed or extended will be known after we receive the new format for submission of the APO,” said a senior official of the department.
The budget estimate for Project Tiger and Elephant in 2023-24 FY has been kept at Rs 331.80 crore against Rs 188 crore under Project Tiger and Rs 32 crore under Project Elephant in the 2022-23 fiscal. Besides, the overall budget allocation to the ministry has also been increased by Rs 600 crore, from Rs 2,478 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 3,079 crore in 2023-24. Government officials and conservationists who welcomed the increased allocation for the ministry hope the merger will not affect conservation efforts of the state adversely.
PCCF (Wildlife) SK Popli said though the schemes have been announced to be merged, the objectives are likely to remain the same. “More details in this regard will be known only after the merger takes place,”
he said.