Nagpur: Just a few days back, 'Vantara' in Gujarat, the result of a lone businessman's efforts, garnered widespread applause for being home to over 2000 animals across 43 species. On the other hand, in Maharashtra, it seems a complete state mechanism has failed to contain wild animal deaths, with the state reporting death of as many as 19 tigers and poaching of four more big cats in the last three months.
Is something ailing the Maharashtra forest department? Well, state forest minister Ganesh Naik has been camping in Nagpur to understand exactly that. Over the last two days, Naik has held several review meetings at the forest department headquarters to identify the problems and discuss possible solutions.
"Currently, the tiger population in the state stands at 446. There are more tigers in the core area than in the buffer zone, and their count is maximum in Chandrapur district. However, in the last three months, 19 tigers have died in the state and four tigers have been poached. Some of them lost their lives due to starvation," informed the Forest Minister.
To strengthen the conservation efforts, the state government is reportedly planning to set up a wildlife sanctuary 'Surya Tara' similar to animal rescue-rehabilitation centre 'Vantara' in Gujarat and has therefore reached out to Anant Ambani for his support in this project.
"A letter has been sent to Anant Ambani seeking his support to start the Surya Tara Sanctuary in Maharashtra's Thane, similar to the Vantara project initiated by the Ambani family in Jamnagar, Gujarat. Land for the project has already been identified," minister Naik added.
"Clear instructions have been given to the officers to ensure that the forest department does not create any unnecessary hurdles in the implementation of various schemes of the Central and State governments. Efforts are underway to increase the revenue through various initiatives. For this, the Forest Development Corporation has been asked to plant bamboo on available land. Along with this, we are expecting that the department's revenue will increase through production of fruit juices by planting fruit trees like Mosambi in Marathwada, Orange in Vidarbha, grapes in Nashik area and pomegranate in western Maharashtra. This apart, the Social Forestry Department will carry out tree plantation on both sides of the Samruddhi Highway," said Naik.
"Former forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar had a dream of starting a large factory in Nagpur to produce quality furniture from forest wood. We are working on that. In the next seven months, furniture manufacturing factories will be established in different parts of the state at a cost of Rs 70 crore, with a monthly investment of Rs 10 crore," informed minister Naik, adding that these furniture factories will be set up not only in Vidharbha but across the state.
To ensure that wild animals stay and stray within the forest boundaries, some fruit-bearing trees would be planted in the core areas of the forest. "The initiative is aimed at meeting the needs of herbivores, which in turn will possibly ensure that carnivores like tigers and leopards do not venture out of the forest area, thereby reducing chances of human-animal conflict," Naik cited.
Further, substandard land belonging to the forest department will be utilised to install solar panels to generate solar energy and boost revenue. "The department's vehicles are damaged and it is necessary to replace those with new ones. We will provide new equipment wherever necessary," he said.
The minister further highlighted that this year, there has not been a single incident of forest fire in Melghat. "If required, instructions have been given to extinguish fire with the help of helicopters. Apart from this, a drone worth about Rs 50 lakh will be purchased for dousing fire," Naik stated.
On the poaching menace, the minister said, "Earlier, poachers lived in the forest areas, but they now reside in cities. Investigations have revealed that the poachers caught in Rajura had international links. Further investigation into the poaching case is underway and a charge sheet will be filed once there is further progress."
