Handle Village Relocation From Tiger Reserves Sensitively: Surekha

Hyderabad: The government was committed to tiger conservation and forest protection and supported the relocation of villages from within the state’s two tiger reserves at Kawal, and Amrabad, but this should be done with sensitivity to the needs of the people to be relocated, forests and environment minister Konda Surekha said on Friday.

Surekha, who chaired a meeting of officials from the Amrabad and Kawal tiger reserves, along with members of their governing bodies, said that relocation could be an emotional issue. Currently, two villages in Kawal and four in Amrabad are in the process of relocation, with the government creating new habitations with all required facilities to the oustees, along with land or cash compensation as per the wishes of those who are being relocated.

Surekha said the government would discuss further the issue of increasing compensation for families whose members lose lives in conflicts with wild animals from the present Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. She said that the Congress government had increased the compensation from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh in such cases.

She called on the officials to expand eco-tourism activities in the two reserves, but that this must be done in a scientific manner. She said in Amrabad, the officials should continue to focus on further developing the Mannur, Maddimadugu, Somasia, Domalapenta, and Akkamahadevi Caves circuits.

The meeting was attended among others by Achampet MLA Vamsikrishna, Khanapur MLA Vedma Bojju, Nizamabad Rural MLA Rekupalli Bhupathi Reddy, Forest Principal Secretary Ahmed Nadeem, PCCF (HOFF) RM Dobriyal, and PCCF (Wildlife) Elu Singh Meru.