OPEN magazine, 26 June, 2010
OPEN IMPACT | During a visit to Corbett National Park last week, Jairam Ramesh, Minister for Environment and Forests (MoEF), announced that an allocation of Rs 25 crore was being made for relocation of 181 Gujjar families from the core areas of the tiger reserve “to reduce man-animal conflict”.
The decision comes four months after an Open investigation (Who’s Killing Corbett’s Tigers, February 13-19) into the mysterious deaths of four big cats in the tiger reserve highlighted the issue of man-animal conflict and sought speedy relocation and rehabilitation of the Gujjar families.
The Open report noted: “With the onset of summer every year, a number of Gujjars from up north move in with buffaloes to join their brethren inside the reserve and make the best use of the Ramganga reservoir. This summer is going to be particularly tough due to scanty rainfall last monsoon. The Corbett management is anticipating a strong influx. With these Gujjars, fresh herds of abandoned cows will also move in towards the Corbett core, lure more tigers and, in turn, trigger retribution. This potential crisis can be averted if the park management implements a longstanding plan for relocating Gujjar families outside Corbett.”
Referring to the 2005 Tiger Task Force report, the ministry said that an urgent and sensitive approach would be taken towards relocation. While 181 Gujjar families will be shifted outside the reserve in the initial round, an MoEF release last week said a total of around 400 Gujjar families would be relocated soon.
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