Telangana awaits Centre’s nod for conservation reserve

The total area of Kawal Tiger Reserve is 1,015 sq. km, including 892 sq. km of core area and a 123 sq. km buffer zone spanning the Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Nirmal, Adilabad, and Mancherial districts.

An already notified tiger corridor covers 1,218 sq. km in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district. However, forest officials stated that the corridor lacks legal backing under the Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA), 1972, as it is not classified as a protected area.

Under Section 36A of WLPA, 1972, the state government may, after consulting local communities, declare any government-owned area, particularly those adjacent to national parks and sanctuaries or linking protected areas, as a conservation reserve.

Members of the State Board for Wildlife highlighted that the notification will aid in habitat protection, improve wildlife conservation, and facilitate funding from centrally-sponsored schemes and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of private companies.

Forest officials noted that community-based eco-tourism activities such as safari drives and trekking could be introduced in the corridor with local community participation, enhancing livelihoods.

The forest department is focused on developing the conservation reserve to attract transit tigers from the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve to the Kawal Tiger Reserve and to retain them as residents. Despite its establishment in 2012, the Kawal Tiger Reserve currently lacks resident tigers.

Following the Centre’s approval, a 1,492 sq. km area in Kagaznagar and Asifabad divisions will be designated as a conservation reserve.

A total of 48 forest blocks in the Kagaznagar division and 65 blocks in the Asifabad division are proposed for inclusion in the conservation reserve.

To facilitate this, the forest department may relocate certain villages to minimise human disturbances along the corridor and may acquire agricultural land for the proposed reserve.

A senior Congress leader from Asifabad, speaking anonymously, stated that converting the existing corridor into a conservation reserve would bring many villages under the Kawal Tiger Reserve. He expressed concerns that this move could hinder development and welfare activities in the affected villages, as obtaining forest department clearances would become increasingly difficult.