Project Tiger launched by Indira Gandhi focused on conservation and preservation: Kharge

New Delhi, July 29 Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday hailed the country’s ‘Project Tiger’ launched by former prime minister Indira Gandhi saying it not only focused on the conservation of big cats but also ensured the preservation of their natural habitat.

In a tweet, Kharge hailed the role of Indira Gandhi for launching the Project Tiger in 1973.

“India has done extremely well to save the tiger using ‘Project Tiger’, a unique conservation programme launched by Indira Gandhi, 50 years ago. Project Tiger didn’t just focus on the conservation of the big cats. It also ensured the preservation of their natural habitat,” Kharge said.

“While inaugurating the programme, Indira Gandhi had said: ‘The tiger cannot be preserved in isolation. It is at the apex of a large and complex biotope. Its habitat, threatened by human intrusion, commercial forestry and cattle grazing, must first be made inviolate.’ Today, 70 per cent of the tiger population of the world is in India. On International Tiger Day, let us continue protecting this majestic animal and our myriad flora and fauna,” Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said.

India has 3,167 tigers according to the 2022 tiger census which is about 75 per cent of the global numbers.

Project Tiger was started 50 years ago in 1973 when the count was just 268.

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