Guru Ghasidas - Tamor Pingla(గురు ఘాసిదాస్ - తమోర్ పింగ్లా) Tiger Reserve to be the 3rd largest in the country

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav, informed the Nation about the notification of the Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla(గురు ఘాసిదాస్ - తమోర్ పింగ్లా) Tiger Reserve, Chhattisgarh, as the 56th Tiger Reserve of the country. In a post on social media platform ‘X’, the Minister said, “As India continues to touch new milestones in tiger conservation, we have notified Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla in Chhattisgarh as the 56th tiger reserve. Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve is spread over 2,829 sq km.”

Largest Tiger Reserves in India:

• First: Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, Andhra Pradesh
• Second: Manas Tiger Reserve, Assam
• Third: Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve, Chhattisgarh

Key Points

• About:
  
  • It is located in the northern part of Chhattisgarh, bordering Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
  • Approval was granted under Section 38V(1) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
  • This will be the fourth Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh, after the Udanti-Sitanadi, Achanakmar and Indravati Reserves.
• Significance:
  
  • Guru Ghasidas National Park was the last known habitat of the Asiatic cheetah in the country.
  • It connects Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh and provides a corridor for tigers to move between the Bandhavgarh (Madhya Pradesh) and Palamau Tiger Reserves (Jharkhand).

Image Source: https://upsccolorfullnotes.com

Keeping in view the landscape approach to conservation as envisaged in India’s National Wildlife Plan, the newly notified tiger reserve is contiguous with the Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh forming a landscape complex of nearly 4500 sq.kms. Further, the tiger reserve is connected to the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh to the West and Palamau Tiger Reserve in Jharkhand to the East. The National Tiger Conservation Authority had accorded final approval for notifying the Guru Ghasidas- Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve in October, 2021.

Biodiversity:

A total of 753 species, including 365 invertebrates and 388 vertebrates, have been documented from Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve by the Zoological Survey of India. The invertebrate fauna is represented mostly by the class insecta. The vertebrate fauna includes 230 species of birds and 55 species of mammals comprising several threatened species from both the groups.

With this notification, Chhattisgarh is now home to 4 Tiger Reserves, which is bound to strengthen conservation of the species with ongoing technical and financial assistance from the National Tiger Conservation Authority under Project Tiger.

 how tiger reserve is declared ?

Tiger reserves are declared in India by state governments, but the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) must advise on the process:

State governments prepare a Tiger Conservation Plan: This plan includes how to manage and plan the notified areas, and how to maintain the staff needed to protect the tiger reserve.

State governments notify the tiger reserve: State governments notify the tiger reserve in accordance with the provisions of Section 38V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

NTCA approves the tiger reserve: The NTCA must approve the tiger reserve as a project.

Tiger reserves have two components:

1. Core area: This area has the legal status of a national park or sanctuary, and an exclusive agenda for tigers is followed.

2. Buffer area : This area is a mix of forest and non-forest land, and is managed as a multiple use area.


State governments can only change the boundaries of a tiger reserve with the recommendation of the Tiger Conservation Authority and the approval of the National Board for Wild Life.

Source: PIB