Improve habitat before designating Kumbhalgarh as tiger reserve: Expert panel
The Union government and National Tiger Conservation Authority in 2023 gave in-principal approval for designating Kumbhalgarh-Todgarh Raoli sanctuaries as a tiger reserve
An 11-member expert committee has recommended urgent conservation and management for habitat improvement and prey base development before designating Rajasthan’s Kumbhalgarh-Todgarh Raoli sanctuaries as a tiger reserve, an official familiar with the matter said. It submitted its report on Thursday last saying the proposed reserve comprising only Kumbhalgarh and Todgarh wildlife sanctuaries cannot sustain a viable tiger population in the long term.
The report cited the historical tiger presence and the potential of the landscape and recommended the inclusion of additional areas to the proposed reserve. The committee said the villages within the proposed tiger reserve boundary, as well as those identified in the landscape development plan, are thinly populated while recommending voluntary relocation plan. “...a strategic voluntary village relocation plan should be implemented to secure inviolate habitats—particularly in valley areas—for tigers while also improving the quality of life for villagers by integrating them into more sustainable living conditions.”
The panel recommended the removal of invasive weed species that compete with native flora and disrupt the ecosystem to create suitable habitats for wild ungulates. It said efforts must be made to reclaim the land by planting palatable grasses that are not only beneficial for ungulates but also support overall biodiversity.
The panel said these grasses will provide a nutritious food source, helping to sustain healthy populations of herbivores, which in turn support the predators that rely on them.
A second official said shifting of around 1000-2000 chital (spotted dear) to the reserve and initial relocation of around three to four villages has been recommended. He added that anti-poaching camps, wireless and patrol road networks also needed to be strengthened.
The Union government and National Tiger Conservation Authority in August 2023 gave in-principal approval for the tiger reserve. The state government thereafter constituted the committee to identify core or critical tiger habitat and buffer or peripheral area as part of preparations for the declaration of the tiger reserve to safeguard the region’s biodiversity.
The proposed Kumbhalgarh Tiger Reserve (Kumbhalgarh and Todgarh-Raoli sanctuaries) is proposed to span around 1,397 square kilometres across Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pali, Ajmer, and Sirohi districts.