Tiger, tiger burning bright in Goa's forests, but no one wants to see

Panaji, April 3 The mighty tiger, a recurring motif in Goan mythology and forest legends, has once again come back to haunt the state's socio-political landscape.

Over the last decade and more, the state's ruling political class irrespective of party affiliation have tried to ignore the presence of tiger movement in the state, even as an all India Tiger Estimation survey, which is being readied by the state Forest Department, has once again started a conversation over formalising the presence of the national animal in Goa.

As soon as wildlife officials started preparing the groundwork for the survey in the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary over the last fortnight, Goa Minister Vishwajit Rane, in whose assembly constituency the sanctuary is located, said that he would urge the Chief Minister to cancel the survey on account of popular opposition.

"I will write to the PCCF not to conduct any survey. There is no need for a survey. I will inform the Chief Minister and then move a note. I will urge the Chief Minister to stop the survey," Rane said. The BJP MLA is the second seniormost minister in the Pramod Sawant-led cabinet after the Chief Minister himself.

In more than a decade, five tigers have been killed in the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary itself. The first reported tiger poaching incident occurred in 2009, when a tiger was snared in a metal trap, which cut through its torso. In 2020, four tigers were killed by poisoning, leading to the arrest of four persons.

The possibility of relocating their homes as well as diminished access to forest areas due to the potential setting up of a Tiger Reserve, fuss over forest department permissions related to construction and repair of homes, as well as less access to forest produce including cashew plantations which grow in adjacent patches has led to popular opposition to the setting up of a Reserve in Goa.

According to Forest Department officials, the spread of the Tiger Reserve could also encompass three other wildlife sanctuaries, which run contiguous to each other and fringe several mining leases which ring the already existing sanctuaries.

"Setting up of a Tiger Reserve would make Goa's forests secure forever and enhance the state's fauna and forest cover for decades to come," a forest official said on condition of anonymity.

Goa's increased forest cover and protection to its green cover can be credited to retired General JFR Jacob's tenure as a Governor in 1999, when an elected government was not in place. The Governor announced the formation of the two sanctuaries in Mhadei and Netravali, a move which according to Rane was not in the interest of the people living in the areas.

"The confusion was created by General Jacob, on June 4, 1999. No one gave him the right when an elected government was not in place. They changed the landscape as if running a paint brush over it," Rane said.

Soon after the poaching of a female tiger at Mhadei, the Goa government has been urged by several central government agencies to set up a Tiger Reserve in the state. In 2011, a National Wildlife Board member wrote to then Chief Minister Digambar Kamat to set up a reserve.

In 2020, the National Tiger Conservation Authority, whose officials were in Goa to probe the death of four tigers, had alleged mismanagement in the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary calling the protected area a "death-trap" for tigers, while also recommending the setting up of a Tiger Reserve.

Rane however insists that the possibility of setting up a Tiger Reserve was making the local residents insecure and that he would write to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests to scrap the ongoing survey.

"People do not have to worry about anything. This is a people's government and we will resolve the issues of the people on priority. There is no question of making people insecure... I will write to the PCCF not to conduct any survey," he said.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor