In a setback to state wildlife department, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on Wednesday sought a status report on a project involving translocation of 100 deer from Jamni in Tadoba range to Botezari in Kolsa under Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) to augment prey base.
NTCA AIG Hemant Kamdi said, “The report has been sought from PCCF (wildlife). The inquiry will be done only if a need is felt otherwise the PCCF report will be submitted to the NTCA headquarters in Delhi.”
On April 26 & 28, 2021, TOI reported the relocation project from within the tiger reserve. The project had invited sharp criticism from wildlife conservationists demanding immediate stop of this “unwarranted experiment”.
Taking cognizance of the TOI reports, Prakruti Foundation of Chandrapur president Deepak Dixit lodged a complaint with the NTCA, demanding cancellation of the project. The permission for the project is valid till August 31, 2021.
Taking note of the complaint, NTCA deputy inspector general Rajendra Garawad has written to the chief wildlife warden seeking a factual status report.
Dixit in his complaint asked about the status of deer that were already present in large numbers in the Botezari meadows. “Last summer, unsuccessful attempts were made by the TATR officials to translocate 50 deers in which the animals suffered heavy casualties. Lakhs of rupees went waste on the project and the outcome was zero. What happened to those deers?” he asked.
“Now again the same project is being implemented without any scientific basis. Without a scientific study, how can you say deer needs to be shifted as there is no prey base in Botezari?” asked former Gadchiroli honorary wildlife warden Uday Patel.
“There were hundreds of deer in the Botezari meadows a few years ago. Where are they now? It means villagers in the area are involved in poaching and there is no point in shifting deer without addressing this issue. Efforts should be made to expedite the relocation of villages instead of translocation,” Patel said.
Conservationist Prafulla Bhamburkar said, “Amazingly, the capture area of Jamni is famous for tigers, leopards and other carnivores which have spotted deer as main prey. The current population of deer in Jamni is not an ecological burden or risk to the habitat. Then why a need has been felt to remove these deer from their habitat?”.
He further said, “Research theory regarding animal life cycle and their existence is always not as per the thumb rules. The home range theory has always been changed due to many biotic factors. For example, the chital population in Koradi thermal power station had to migrate to Nara forest depot towards Nagpur due to the construction of a new mega power plant. Even Nagzira-Navegaon corridor has same migration features.”
On the contrary, TATR conservator (CF) & field director Jitendra Ramgaonkar said, “The project will not be cancelled but get delayed because of other reasons like Covid-19 and staff availability. We will take a call based on logistics and not because of any unsubstantiated opinions of so-called experts.”
