Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act comes into force

New Delhi, Sep 5 (UNI) The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006, providing for creation of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and a Wildlife Crime Control Bureau has come into force, an official release said here today.

The legislation, passed by Parliament in its monsoon session, was the result of the need for a statutory authority with legal backing to ensure tiger conservation and the need to give more teeth to law against wildlife crime.

Creation of these authorities had been recommended by a special Task Force set up by the National Wildlife Board.

It had also recommended that an annual report should be submitted to the Central Government for laying in Parliament, so that commitment to Project Tiger is reviewed from time to time.

The functions and powers of the Authority, inter alia include approval of Tiger Conservation Plan prepared by states, laying down normative standards for tiger conservation, providing information on several aspects which include protection, tiger estimation, patrolling and other.

It will also ensure measures for addressing man-wild animal conflicts and fostering co-existence with local people constitution of steering committee by states, preparation of tiger protection and conservation plans by states, ensuring agricultural, livelihood interests of people living in and around Tiger Reserves, establishing the tiger conservation foundation for supporting their development.

The Authority would facilitate MoU with states within the federal set up for tiger conservation. It will provide for an oversight by Parliament as well.

Further, it will address livelihood interests of local people in areas surrounding Tiger Reserves, apart from ensuring that the rights of the Scheduled Tribes and such other people living nearby are not interfered or adversely affected.

The core (critical) and buffer (peripheral) areas have been defined, while safeguarding the interests of Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers.

The penalty for an offence relating to the core area of a tiger reserve or hunting in the reserve has been increased. The first conviction in such offence shall be punishable with imprisonment not less than three years but may extend to seven years, and also with fine not less than 50,000 rupees but may extend to two lakh rupees.

The second or subsequent conviction would lead to imprisonment not less than seven years, and also with fine not less than five lakh rupees, which can be extended to fifty lakh rupees.

A notification of the new legislation was issued here yesterday.

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