Telangana makes state's tiger reserves wait for funds

Hyderabad: The country is all set to celebrate 50 years of Project Tiger, which was launched on April 1, 1973. However, for the two tiger reserves in Telangana, Amrabad and Kawal, finding funds for managing the reserves, protecting the habitat and their tigers, continues to be a tough task.

For the past two years, the state budget documents show that the Centre, under Project Tiger, has provided Rs. 2.2 crore to Telangana for tigers and their habitat protection. The state, on its part, is expected to provide a matching amount.

Though Rs. 2.2 crore a year is a mere drop in the overall Budget size of the Telangana government, sources said the state has not been releasing the funds on time, leaving the two tiger reserves struggling to find money for even simple activities like weeding, or the more challenging fire-fighting operations.

This is despite the tiger numbers going up, particularly in Amrabad tiger reserve, while in the Kawal tiger reserve there is a constant movement of tigers that come in from Maharashtra’s forests, and mostly go back.

Sources said that the state share of funds for 2021-22 were released in the 2022-23 financial year, while not a single penny has been released for 2022-23. “The Centre gives its share of funds in four installments and the state has to release its share within a month of getting Central share. This has not been happening. Even if utilisation certificates for the Central share are sent, because the state has not been releasing its share, no further funds have been coming from the Central government,” sources said.

The amount of Rs. 2.2 crore may not seem huge but a lot can be done with that. Though the mechanism for the past two years has been that the Project Tiger funds are deposited in an account managed by the chief wildlife warden, the system is taking time for getting streamlined. The Centre too can do a bit better by releasing its share of funds on time, a forest department source explained.