Maharashtra: 25% increase in the number of tigers in four years

Due to the effective management of wildlife in the state, there has been a significant increase in the number of wild animals including tigers in the six tiger reserves, protected areas and outside the protected areas. The number of tigers in the state has increased by 25 percent in the last four years.

The 20th meeting of the State Wildlife Board was held on Monday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar participated in the meeting through teleconference from Nagpur. While Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Vikas Kharge, Principal Secretary of Forest Department Venugopal Reddy, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Maheep Gupta etc. were present.

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In the last four years, the number of tigers in the country has increased from 2,967 to 3,167. This increase is 6.74 percent and compared to this, it was said that the number of tigers in Maharashtra has increased by 25 percent in the last four years. Every four years the management effectiveness of tiger reserves is assessed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. In this assessment conducted in 2022, Pench Tiger Reserve has been ranked eighth in the country. It was said at this time that the evaluation status of other tiger reserves has also increased. 

In the meeting, proposals for development projects in the sanctuary and in environmentally sensitive areas, along the tiger trail were discussed. In this, 19 proposals for road projects and underground optical fiber cable were presented mainly for broadband connectivity.