70 per cent fall in tiger reserves' budget
Wildlife activists are of the view that tigers outside the reserves need more focus and funds need to be provided for their conservation.
Mumbai: The state government has spent significantly less on the development of national parks and tiger reserves in the past two years, according to the State Economic Report 2019.
The expenditure on tiger reserves has decreased by 70 per cent this year as compared to 2017-18.
The highest expenditure was incurred on the Pench tiger reserve (Rs 7.23 crore) followed by that on the Melghat tiger reserve.
At Rs 6.90 crore, the expenditure on development of national parks and sanctuaries in 2018 was half that in 2017 (Rs 13.44 crore).
However, the state forest department claimed that Maharashtra had taken adequate measures under the tiger project. “The funds spent annually also depend on the work done in previous years and the money provided by the central government for the initiative. Over the years, the number of tigers has increased in the state,” said an official.
Wildlife activists are of the view that tigers outside the reserves need more focus and funds need to be provided for their conservation.
“The state government should rather invest on protecting tiger corridors,” said said wildlife activist Dr Jerryl Banait.
Mr Banait continued, The state is not talking about the highways being built that are passing through tiger corridors and wildlife areas, which should be the focus of Project Tiger.