Prime Minster Manmohan Singh has asked the states to take steps to strengthen institutional arrangements in the tiger reserves on an urgent basis.
New Delhi, Aug 3 : Prime Minster Manmohan Singh has asked the states to take steps to strengthen institutional arrangements in the tiger reserves on an urgent basis.
He also asked to recruit frontline staff of the Forest Department especially in sanctuaries.
After a review of the implementation of the Tiger Task Force Report, Singh said that a large number of frontline posts in the Department of Forests, lying vacant in several states, must be filled in at the earliest.
Singh also asked the states to consider major tiger reserves as autonomous profit centres.
He urged to create a "development agency" in each tiger reserve for guidance in increasing local participation in tiger reserve management. These agencies would be under the field directors involving Panchayats and professional wild life experts.
He further suggested creation of a "development fund" in each tiger reserve, which would be made eligible for tourism gate receipts, assistance from governments and funds from Aforestation Fund Management and Planning Authorities.
There were about 40,000 tigers in India a century ago. A survey conducted in 2001 and 2002 suggested that number had fallen to around 3,700, after decades of poaching and habitat destruction. Some environment groups put the number at less than 2,000.
ANI