BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh’s Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary near state capital Bhopal will soon be notified as the state’s eighth tiger reserve, people familiar with the matter said.
Forest department principal secretary Ashok Varnwal said all formalities have been completed. “Now, the notification will soon be released. This will be the first tiger reserve in India which is located near any capital city,” he said. The sanctuary is about 60km from Bhopal.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) gave its in-principle approval to the tiger reserve in August 2008
In 2019, the Kamal Nath government took steps to issue the notification of the tiger reserve but it was not approved by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government that came to power in March 2020.
In January this year, union environment minister Bhupender Yadav wrote to chief minister Mohan Yadav on the topic.
Yadav, who chaired the Madhya Pradesh Wildlife Board meeting on September 27, had issued instructions to complete the development works related to the Ratapani sanctuary on priority.
In line with the chief minister’s instructions, the state officials on Wednesday held a high-level meeting ahead of the tiger reserve notification. The notification will be issued by October 31 and the posting of forest officials will be done by November 15.
{{/usCountry}}In line with the chief minister’s instructions, the state officials on Wednesday held a high-level meeting ahead of the tiger reserve notification. The notification will be issued by October 31 and the posting of forest officials will be done by November 15.
{{/usCountry}}The tiger reserve will be developed across 1,270 sqkm area of Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary and Singhori Sanctuary. Of this, 763 sq km will be the core area while 507 sq km will be notified as buffer area.
According to the 2022 census, the area has a population of population of about 56 tigers. The area also has 70 leopards and a good population of herbivores.
The railways are also working on developing underpasses to avoid instances of the animals being hit by the train, a forest official said.