The Hindu Business Line : Project Tiger languishing

"However, the fact remains that though the prime objective of the Project Tiger was to attain a viable population of tigers, acceptable norms for sustaining the population were yet to be framed."

In the book, Wild Tigers of Ranthambhore, Valmik Thapar mentions the moment, some 30 to 40 years ago, when he made the first train trip to the tiger sanctuary and meets Fateh Singh Rathore, the Field Director of the Park. "Vanishing into the folds of Ranthambhore was a snap decision. That train journey was one of the most difficult that I have taken. I had emptied out as if to await another experience," Valmik writes.

The enigmatic Fateh Singh Rathore has captured on camera the lifestyle of the tiger, which runs more like a well-manicured motion picture.

One has spent a couple of hours with this gentleman for whom living is all about watching and protecting tigers.

He knows the tigers in the Park more than himself. They are on roaring terms with him and when any one animal goes missing, Rathore misses not a heartbeat but a heart.

In the years spent alone at the Park, Rathore has guessed or rather glimpsed at something extraordinary, some improbable aspect of Nature. Just a peep for a second. Jane Goodall, who has lived 30 years and more watching the chimpanzees of Gombe, writes in her book Through a Window: "There are many windows through which we can look out into the world, searching for meaning. ... As I stood quietly in the pale sunshine, so much a part of the rain-washed forests and the creatures that lived there, I saw for a brief moment through another window and with other vision.

"It is an experience that comes, unbidden, to some of us who spend time alone in nature. The air was filled with a feathered symphony, the evensong of birds... ... I sensed the presence of a bushbuck, then saw him, quietly browsing upwind, his spiralled horns dark with rain. And I was utterly filled with that peace, which passeth all understanding."

I am not sure whether Rathore has made his peace.

With tigers in his Park and elsewhere disappearing faster than the bullets aimed at them by poachers (mostly tribals), Rathore is a man grievously hurt.

Please take an hour out to read the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, `Conservation and Protection of Tigers in Tiger Reserves.'

Project Tiger, a creation of Indira Gandhi, cannot be said to have gone quarter way to conserve tigers. Between 1973 and 1984, 15 tiger reserves were carved out; of this eight - Periyar, Melghat, Ranthambhore, Sariska, Indravati, Palamau, Sunderbans and Manas — "had not registered an increase in tiger population over the period 1984-2002. The Project Tiger has not set down "the acceptable norms of sustaining a viable tiger population."

In a submission to CAG in March 2006, the Project Tiger Directorate (PTD) said the, "tiger population does not increase exponentially over the years nor is there any defined rate of increase every year and the difference in population estimates over the years should not be construed as a failure of conservation as the real tiger numbers in the country were never free from controversy."

For these reasons officials at Project Tiger, "never probed" a fall in tiger population "unless and until the overall trend is alarming."

Without any qualms, Project Tiger officials also agreed that the animals have "a short gestation period and a remarkable power of recovery if the habitat is well protected and sustainable."

The CAG is not impressed with the oracular play of facts and views.

It says: "However, the fact remains that though the prime objective of the Project Tiger was to attain a viable population of tigers in the country, acceptable norms for sustaining a viable tiger population were yet to be framed and the net increase in tiger population in 15 Tiger Reserves over 18 years (1984-2002) was only 20."

A stronger statement could not have been made for Tigers and Forests.

Project Tiger was started in April 1973 and 28 tiger reserves were created in 17 States between 1973-74 and 1999-2000.

In March 2004, the Ministry of Environment and Forests okayed a Rs 1.39-crore pilot project for mapping wildlife sanctuaries and parks by the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun. The project was to be completed in 36 months.

"Out of the five sites selected for this pilot project, three were tiger reserves namely, Corbett, Tadoba-Andhari and Dudhwa. The identified targets included generation of satellite data by July 2004 and securing the Survey of India (SoI) topographic maps by September 2004.

"However, both activities were not completed even as of March 2006. As against the projected expenditure of Rs 1.20 crore in the first two years, Rs 0.73 crore was released of which only Rs 0.30 crore was spent till the end of February 2006 indicating poor progress of the project," the CAG report states.

Believe it or not, the norms for tiger reserves seem to be flexible and thanks be to Project Tiger. Experts in 1972 had suggested, "a large area of at least 2,000 sq. km with a similar contiguous area to ensure a viable population of about 300 tigers in each such area."

As land is scarce, a Special Task Force in 1972 decided on tiger reserves "with an average area of 1,500 sq. km with at least 300 sq. km as core area."

The minimum area in 15 tiger reserves was less than 720 sq. km, not even half the prescribed area. The core area in six out of 15 reserves — Palamau, Ranthambhore, Pench (Madhya Pradesh), Tadoba-Andhari, Bhadra and Pench (Maharashtra) — is short of the 300 sq. km set down. Worse, a large number of parks have yet to be legally notified. Has the Tiger a living chance?

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