The tigers are waiting, NTCA

While on the one hand the Centre imports Cheetahs from Namibia, tiger reserves across the country are starved for funds

While on the one hand the Centre imports Cheetahs from Namibia amid much fanfare and at an exorbitant cost to restore a species that vanished 70 years ago from Indian forests, on the other hand, tiger reserves across the country, including Karnataka, are starved for funds. India has 53 tiger reserves, five of them in Karnataka, which receive 60 per cent of their funding from the Centre. The funds are released after tiger reserves submit their action plan — known as annual plan operation (APOs) — to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which evaluates the proposals and approves fund release. On average, each reserve requires about Rs 10 crore per year, of which 90 per cent goes towards payment of wages. Funds are needed for providing food supplies to personnel in anti-poaching camps, patrolling and surveillance, maintenance of road networks, creation of fire lines and engaging fire watchers. These funds are usually released during the first quarter of the financial year. Thanks to the undue delay in the release of funds this year, crucial conservation work has come to a virtual standstill at almost all reserves. The reserves are now drawing from the local Tiger Conservation Foundation, which is funded by collections from tourists visiting tiger reserves. These funds are meant for emergency purposes and not for regular activities. Even if the state government makes the required funds available as an interim measure, no major work can be undertaken in the reserves without the approval of NTCA, which has been sitting on the plans for about 10 months now.

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The NTCA says it is in the process of laying down certain systems and processes to ensure financial discipline as some states have failed to follow due procedure. But the fault of a few states should not be a reason to punish all states, especially those like Karnataka and Kerala which have scrupulously followed guidelines. While checks and balances are welcome, bureaucratic hurdles and highhandedness should not come in the way of tiger conservation. Conservation efforts have assumed all the more importance as a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) survey shows that the efforts of recent decades are yielding results as tiger numbers are increasing across the world, especially in India, after a century of decline.

The lackadaisical attitude of the Centre will only put to naught the years of efforts that have gone in so far, especially since 2005. Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav, who chairs the NTCA, must prevail upon his government to ensure that the funds are released without further delay. The state government will do well to step in in the interim.