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Though the tiger population has reportedly risen by 30 percent in India, Madhya Pradesh is no longer the Tiger State of the country, and has in fact, fallen to third place.
The latest tiger census figure showed that the population of the wild cat in the country had risen to 2,226 in 2014, up 30 per cent since the last count in 2010. But Uttrakhand, where the number of tigers has gone up from 227 in 2010 to 346 in 2014, has now pushed Madhya Pradesh from second slot to third in tiger population.
However state yet hopes to regain pole position as the census has not been conducted in Satpura National Park, a major tiger reserve area in the state. According to the recent census, Madhya Pradesh has now 308 tigers against 257 in 2010.
"Tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh such as Kanha and Bandhavgarh have plains where the animal are more exposed to humans than in those states that have been ranked ahead of it. Karnataka and Uttarakhand have undulated areas where forest areas are denser. These areas provide safer shelter for the tiger and it can remain out of sight of poachers. The census figures of Satpura Tiger reserve, where sighting is not as common as Kanha and Bandhavgarh due to its uneven terrain, has yet to come up. It would certainly increase the numbers," a highly-placed official in state forest department told Business Standard.
According to the All India Tiger Estimation Exercise 2010, the animal's population dipped to 257 in the state from 300 in 2006. On the other hand, Karnataka had a tiger population of 300 counts, 10 up from the tiger census of 2006. And now, it has highest number.
The recent census has placed the state on top with 406 tigers (300 in 2010). Prior to 2006, Madhya Pradesh took the top slot with more than 300 tigers. Later, in the 2010 tiger census conducted by Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India, it came down to second slot with 257 tigers.
During 2007-2009 the state's protection efforts came into question when Panna Tiger Reserve - was exposed as "tiger less" park. The issue put various forest officials, including higher-ups in the department in a spot and various forums demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe.
The then forest minister, Sartaj Singh, also suggested to a CBI investigation but later the issue was put on the backburner.
Wildlife experts and officials who worked in the field have told Business Standard anonymously that either the census in Karnataka is faulty and the number of tigers are exaggerated, or Madhya Pradesh has shown wrong numbers of tigers till recently.
An expert's logic seems realistic. He says, "If we go by the 2010 census and consider one female tiger among three male tigers, even then the number of females must not be less than 80. A tigress gives birth to two cubs at regular intervals of two years. In case they have given birth in four years the number of tigers in Madhya Pradesh may have gone up by 160. If sixty of them did not survive, even then the number would have gone up by at least 100. But why has that not happened? Also if the tiger population is going up in Karnataka and Uttrakhand, why it is not happening in Madhya Pradesh? Most efforts to protect the cat go waste in construction of roads, water-bodies and other similar activities."
Madhya Pradesh, according to forest department source, receives annual grant of Rs 30 crore for tiger conservation which comes to Rs 11.50 lakh per tiger. "The fund is more than what is received by other states," said the source.
At the ground level, Madhya Pradesh has yet to set up a tiger protection force, relocate 100-odd villages from tiger reserves and increase prey-base for the majestic animal.
"Earlier, the fund for relocation of various villages was estimated at Rs 3,200 crore. Now it may go up to Rs 10,000 crore after passing of the new land acquisition bill," said the official.
If insiders in the government are to be believed, Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Pench tiger reserves, where sightings are more frequent than any other tiger reserve, need to be linked with each other for making them safer places for the wild cat.
"Few projects to connect the tiger reserves are likely to come up soon," the official said. Till then, the state only can wait in anticipation of regaining the top slot.
