Tigers near water
The Rajasthan state government has announced that 18 villages that form part of Bundi city are in fact part of Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary which was notified on May 20, 1982. The consequence of this announcement is that all buildings in the villages and surrounding area are illegal.
All sale and purchasing of land in the area since the notification of the wildlife sanctuary is also deemed to be illegal. Regional officials have announced that all buildings and construction in the area is illegal under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
Legal challenges to enforcement action in Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary possible.
Notices have been served on all the affected residents and the local authorities have said that action will be taken to enforce the notices. Villages have vowed to fight the notices and enforcement in the courts.
Questions are being asked as to why after nearly 30 years of co-existence of residents and nature that the state government has now decided to take a much harder line.
Ramgarh Vishdhari enforcement due to proposed inclusion in Project Tiger.
One of the possible reasons for this sudden turnaround in policy are the current considerations to make Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary part of Project tiger and to transform it into part of a tiger corridor between Ranthambhore National Park and the recently declared tiger reserve at Darrah Sanctuary.
Ranthambore National Park is now overcrowded with tigers following a population rise and The National Tiger Conservation Authority of India are looking at ways of expanding the territory for the tigers.
Plans to include Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary has taken on a new urgency since earlier in the year when a tiger in Ranthambhore National Park attacked a man. This led to violent protects by villagers resulting in 2 wildlife rangers being beaten up.
Relocations and evictions common under Project Tiger but not on this scale.
Relocation of villagers under Project Tiger is not unusual but the scale of the potential relocations at Bundi could take this to an entirely new level. The relocations could even take in parts of the city itself.
A warning about a potential change of enforcement policy of the sate could have been gleaned from the Ranthambhore Project Tiger Management Plan 2001-2011:
In the south west of the RNP (Ranthambhore National Park) , Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary & Kuwalji Closed Area extend up to river Chakal and beyond. The adjoining forest areas of Bundi further connects RTR (Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve) to forest areas of Kota. Therefore, a whole corridor is available for the movement of wildlife provided the adjoining areas of Dholpur, Bharatpur, Bundi and Kota districts also gets adequate protection. In fact, the area mentioned above can be a contiguous area for the Tiger.
Some object to inclusion of Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary into Project Tiger.
There are some objections being voiced about the new proposals as some people are saying that while there is still forest cover for tigers to move around in there is very little or no natural prey left for the tigers. This would mean that tigers would be reliant on cattle for food and that could raise tensions between humans and wildlife. Since the last of the local tiger population died out in the 1990′s no tiger has survived very long if it has ventured in to the proposed corrider of Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary.
External Sites:
Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary.
Bundi sanctuary to be included in Project Tiger.
