Chhattisgarh cleared a proposal to establish a new tiger reserve, the third largest in the country, due to the recent plunge in its tiger population.
- Current Tiger Reserves in Chhattisgarh: Chhattisgarh currently, has three tiger reserves:
- Achanakmar Tiger Reserve in Mungeli district,
- Indravati Tiger Reserve in Bijapur district,
- Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve in Gariaband district.
- New Tiger Reserve: The Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve is Chhattisgarh’s fourth tiger reserve.
- It will integrate the Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Sanctuary.
- It will be spread across the districts of Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur, Koriya, Surajpur, and Balrampur.
- Reasons for establishing a new tiger reserve: According to a National Tiger Conservation Authority report released in July 2023, Chhattisgarh’s tiger population decreased from 46 in 2014 to 17 in 2022.
- National Tiger Conservation Authority Approval:The NTCA had accorded its assent to the proposal in 2021.
- However, the notification of the tiger reserve hanged in fire due to the presence of coal block, oil block and methane gas block in the regions falling under it.
- Benefits: The formation of the new tiger reserve is expected to boost eco-tourism and create employment opportunities for local villagers residing in the core and buffer zones.
- The National Project Tiger Authority will allocate additional funds for reserve operations and new livelihood projects in surrounding villages.
- Comparative Reserve Sizes: Andhra Pradesh’s Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve is the largest in the country at 3,296.31 sq km, followed by Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam at 2,837.1 sq km. Both reserves have 58 tigers each.
Tiger Reserves in Chhattisgarh
- Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary: The Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary was constituted in the year 1975 it comprises 557.55 sq kms in the north west forest block of Bilaspur forest division.
- Forest vegetation mainly comprises Sal, Saja, Tinsa, Bija, Bamboo.
- The sanctuary is close to Amarkantak which is the origin of river Narmada.
- Achanakmar Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh is a tropical moist deciduous and tropical dry deciduous forest.
- The reserve is also a part of the much larger Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve.
- Indravati National Park: Indravati National Park is the finest and most famous wildlife park of Chhattisgarh.
- It is located in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh.
- The Park derives its name from the Indravati River, which flows from east to west and forms the northern boundary of the reserve with the Indian state of Maharashtra.
- Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve: It was established in 1984. It also includes Udanti and Sitanadi Wildlife Sanctuaries.
- The reserve’s drainage system is primarily fed by the Mahanadi River and its tributaries—Udanti, Sitanadi, Indravan, and Pairi Rivers.
- The area features Tropical Peninsular Sal forest and Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Mixed forest types.