NEW DELHI: The new tiger census will be out soon. But bad news for the tigers has come with numbers of a different kind. With the UPA government deciding to keep a tight fiscal lid on the budget this year, funds for tiger conservation have been cut by 25%.
With resources from the Centre drying up, plans for relocation of villagers from tiger reserves could be put on hold. The National Tiger Conservation Authority had worked out a need for Rs 5,000 crore to relocate and resettle almost 50,000 families over a period. It had got the earmarked Rs 700 crore from the Planning Commission for the coming five years for the relocation and other works.
But this year, the fiscal constraints that other ministries are bound to face as well, has hit the tiger reserves as well. A mere Rs 150 crore has been allocated for the 39 tiger reserves for the next financial year, down from the Rs 196 crore it had been provided for this fiscal year.
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With resources from the Centre drying up, plans for relocation of villagers from tiger reserves could be put on hold. The National Tiger Conservation Authority had worked out a need for Rs 5,000 crore to relocate and resettle almost 50,000 families over a period. It had got the earmarked Rs 700 crore from the Planning Commission for the coming five years for the relocation and other works.
But this year, the fiscal constraints that other ministries are bound to face as well, has hit the tiger reserves as well. A mere Rs 150 crore has been allocated for the 39 tiger reserves for the next financial year, down from the Rs 196 crore it had been provided for this fiscal year.
Read full story