SAMBALPUR: In a major push for Debrigarh’s tiger reserve status, the state government has formed an expert committee to delineate the core and buffer zones of the protected area.
The move follows approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and marks a significant push toward establishing Odisha’s third tiger reserve after Similipal and Satkosia.
The three-member expert committee, to be headed by Anup Nayak, former member-secretary of NTCA, will comprise Bivash Pandav, scientist with the Wildlife Institute of India and Hema Nayak, former professor of Zoology.
The panel will carry out scientific assessment and ground verification of the proposed areas before recommending final demarcation and facilitating the notification of the reserve.
The proposed tiger reserve spans 804.51 sq km, including 353.81 sq km of core area - the entire Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary. The 450.70 sq km buffer zone encompasses 56 villages.
The core zone, according to officials, is already free of human habitation after relocation of all families by March 2022 and settlement of rights and claims through joint gram sabhas by the Forest and Revenue departments.
Following the committee’s field verification, gram sabhas will be conducted in 56 villages, paving way for final notification of Debrigarh as a tiger reserve.
The proposal to designate Debrigarh as a tiger reserve was first initiated in 2018, along with the adjoining Dechuan and Sarraiadamak-Budharaja reserve forests. The NTCA sought clarifications in 2018 and 2019 regarding core-buffer demarcation, presence of religious tourism sites within the core, and details of community rights and settlements.
The wildlife wing submitted a compliance report on June 28, 2022 proposing the total area and boundaries which included Girigobardhan Temple and Barabakhra Pilgrimage Site within the core.
Subsequently, the NTCA, in its 17th technical committee meeting in February 10, 2023, gave formal approval for the proposed tiger reserve. It noted that the sanctuary has a viable prey base and is ecologically significant due to its connectivity with existing and proposed tiger landscapes across Central India.
Debrigarh is ecologically linked to the proposed Sunabeda tiger reserve in Odisha and Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh, and connected to Satkosia via forest corridors through Angul, Athamalik, Rairakhol, and Sambalpur. A young adult tiger had migrated to Debrigarh in 2022, further strengthening the region’s prospect for tiger reserve status.