Union Minister of Tourism, Culture, and DoNER, G Kishan Reddy, has written a letter to Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao about the declining tiger population in Kawal Tiger Reserve and Chennuru in Telangana. Reddy also mentioned that the State government is not using the allocated funds from the Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) Fund effectively. The gap between the allocated funds and expenditure shows under-utilisation of funds as per the State government’s own Annual Plan of Operations (APO). This has led to the failure to achieve the objectives of the conservation of forests and wildlife.
Reddy referred to a recent report by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which said that the tiger population in Kawal Tiger Reserve and Chennur was falling. The report stated that immediate conservation measures were needed in Telangana. The report also mentioned that tigers were locally moved from Kawal Tiger Reserve to Chennur in Telangana.
The Centre has created a comprehensive strategy to increase the forest area lost due to various development programmes across the country. The “Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA)” has been set up to restore the lost forest area in the respective areas by increasing the number of trees. However, the State government has failed to release its share to the Tiger Conservation Project.
Reddy asked the CM to take appropriate steps for forest and wildlife conservation in Telangana as conservation of nature is an inherent part of India’s culture and ethos, and forests provide habitats for many types of wildlife, medicinal herbs, as well as livelihood opportunities for tribal communities.
