CAG raises doubt over Simlipal Tiger Reserve census-WSO

Bhubaneswar, Aug 30: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on ''Conservation and Protection of Tigers in Tiger Reserves'' has raised doubts over the pugmark method adopted by the Simlipal Tiger Reserve for conducting tiger census.

Wildlife Society of Orissa(WSO) Secretary Biswajit Mohanty in a statement here said the CAG in its recent report had made several scathing observations on the failure of Project Tiger and the state governments to protect and efficiently manage the wild tigers of India.

On the functioning of the Simlipal Tiger Reserve(STR) it has reported the failure of the state government to take serious steps for the demarcation of park boundary, eviction of core area villages control forest fires and setting up strike force.

The CAG, Mr Mohanty said, had questioned the tiger census figures submitted by the Tiger Reserves and observed that the pugmark method was not 'considered to be a foolproof methodology by experts'.

The report has pointed out that the other techniques such as camera trapping, DNA analysis of scat, scratch marks on trees, evidence of breeding,direct sighting and radio telemetry were not adopted for census by the STR.

The Simlipal Tiger Reserve has been counting tigers by the pugmark method till date and the latest census of 2004 has reported 101 tigers.

Mr Mohanty said wildlife experts have expressed concerned over the actual tiger population as sightings have been few and rare in the tiger reserves.

The STR recorded only 11 physical sightings in 2005 though more than 100 tigers were officially reported in the census conducted by adopting the pugmark method.During 2004, only 14 tigers were sighted Mr Mohanty said.

The WSO secretary said the absence of cattle casualty and attack on people during the last 8 years has raised doubts over the actual numbers of tigers in the STR. Everyday, thousands of cattle of 65 villages, located within the Park, graze freely inside the Reserve. Thousands of sal leaf and NTFP collectors also enter the Park everyday but not a single incident of tiger attack has been reported.

He said the CAG has suggested that the boundaries of the existing reserves, including Simlipal, should be notified and the detailed mapping of tiger reserves should be completed early.

The CAG has found that the core area of 845.70 sq kms of the Simlipal National Park has yet to be finally notified though the proposal was submitted in 1973-74.

It had suggested to the Orissa government to relocate the local families and villages from the core and buffer areas of the Tiger Reserves and draw a comprehensive resettlement plan proposing stringent steps to evict the encroachers.

The Simlipal Tiger Reserve has still four villages located in the core area with an estimated population of 1,000 who were yet to be relocated even after 30 years of formation of the Tiger Reserve.

Encroachment by existing villages in the buffer zone has been taking a heavy toll on the habitat and several settlers from Jharkhand had reportedly cleared the forests for settlements and agriculture farms.

This clearly depicted the lack of commitment and seriousness of the State Governments while denying legal backing to the boundaries of the reserves, the CAG report said and suggested that tourism should be well regulated to minimize impact on conservation of tigers in the ecologically sensitive areas.

Mr Mohanty said the Wildlife Conservation Strategy 2002 of Ministry of Environment and Forest clearly envisaged that the revenue earned from tourism should be used entirely for conservation.

And for this purpose, a development fund would be created out of the revenue proceeds. However, it was found that Rs 49.03 lakhs collected by STR during 2000-05 was deposited with the Government and no development fund was created.

According to the CAG, the estimation of prey base was also not carried out at Simlipal Tiger Reserves during 2000-05. Even though Rs.91.61 lakh was sanctioned for the creation of strike force at Simlipal Tiger Reserve, no such force has been created so far making it difficult for the management to protect the Park from poachers and timber smugglers.

The WSO Secretary said the Project Tiger instructed the Chief Wildlife Wardens that a maximum area of 25-30 kms should be brought under the jurisdiction of each patrolling camp and chowki but the CAG report revealed that each chowki or beat house of Simlipal had an allotted area of about 60 sq.kms area for patrolling.

UNI