Government Okays Relocation of 4 Villages from Within Amrabad Tiger Reserve

Hyderabad: A nearly 11-year exercise to relocate four villages from deep inside the core area of the Amrabad Tiger Reserve to an area outside, has finally moved forward with the state government giving the final go ahead for the project on Tuesday. The formal proposals are now expected to be forwarded to the National Tiger Conservation Authority for approval and once this is received the actual process of relocation will begin.

The four villages, or rather hamlets — Sarlapally, Kudichintala Bailu, Thatigundal Penta, and Kollampenta — between them have 417 families of which 160 have opted for a one-time payment of Rs.15 lakh each, while 257 families have opted for a relocation and rehabilitation package. The second option includes giving the families two hectares of agricultural land, land for a house and construction of the house, development of all community amenities including irrigation for the agricultural land, drinking water supply, and for sanitation, provision of electricity and communication facilities, construction of a community centre and religious places of worship and burial or cremation grounds.

“The process of relocation has now gathered more pace after today’s meeting on the subject chaired by Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari. This project is something that the department has been working for a long time to ensure that every family’s needs are attended to and taken care of and the department received a lot of support from the Chief Secretary,” Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force) RM Dobriyal told Deccan Chronicle.

“Once the relocation is completed, 568 hectares of prime habitat for the tigers inside the core area of the reserve, will become free of human presence, which is the goal that all tiger reserves seek to achieve in their core areas,” Dobriyal said. The Amrabad Tiger Reserve, as per the last official count of tigers in 2022, is home to 20 of the big cats, a number that is believed to be around 30 currently with several tigresses giving birth to cubs in the past couple of years.

The relocation of the families from Sarlapally, Kudichintala Bailu, Thatigundal Penta, and Kollampenta is expected to cost around `75 crore.

Imran Siddiqui of Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society (Hyticos), the NGO which was involved from day one of the resettlement and rehabilitation project that was first mooted in 2013, said “we have been waiting for this development for two years. As part of our work, we had also taken the villagers to Nagarhole Tiger Reserve to show them how the resettlement and relocation process works and the benefits they can get from such a move.”

“Every social safeguard has been considered and included to ensure that the villagers who have agreed for the relocation, will not have face any problems later,” he added.

“Amrabad is the future of tigers in Telangana and can be one of the best such reserves in the country. Simultaneously, we are also working on relocation of Vatvarlapally village, also in the core area. Work towards this will continue and in the meanwhile, we will complete the relocation of the four villages in the first phase,” Dobriyal said.