Tiger reserves in Naxalite-hit areas may be exempted from deployment of special armed forces, meant for the protection of the big cats in the country.
The decision is being taken in view of threats from the Naxalites who might not take well the "presence" of the Special Tiger Protection Force which is being created to save the tigers from poachers and miscreants, according to well-placed sources in the environment ministry.
"In the Naxalite-infested reserves, it will not be easy for the armed forces to keep a tab on the tigers as they can come in conflict with the equally well-equipped extremists," a top ministry official said.
This observation was discussed threadbare at a recent high-level meeting led by environment secretary Vijay Sinha and was attended by senior police officials from tiger range states as well almost all state wildlife officials, including chief wildlife wardens and chief conservators of forest.
The government would neither like to risk the lives of the personnel of the STPF nor aggravate the situation by drawing the ire of Naxalites who have presence in the deep forests, the official said.
The extremist-affected tiger reserves are Palamao Betla in Jharkhand, Kaziranga and Manas park in Assam, Nagarjunsagar tiger reserve in Andhra Pradesh besides Indravati in Bastar region in Jharkhand.
"Currently, such reserves are being taken care of by the local guards who have managed somewhat cordial relations with the Naxalites," the official added.
Also, parts of the Valimiki tiger reserve in Champaran in Bihar and Taloba tiger reserve in Maharasthra which have presence of Naxalites will also not be in the scheme of things, if the Prime Minister's Office approves the ministry's observation.
"In Valmiki and Taloba, a few armed personnel will be deployed, nearly a company to be precise," the official said. However, the final decision for deployment of the STPF will be taken by the PMO which has facilitated setting up of Project Tiger, an important conservation plan to protect the endangered predators in the country.
Due to the Naxalite threat, the Wildlife Institute of India did not conduct any tiger census last year in the Indravati reserve, the last count was done in 1989 where 28 tigers were reported to be present in 1,258 sq km area.
Hence, the emphasis will be on to deploy forces in tiger reserves which have good populace of big cats to ensure their protection from poachers and miscreants, the sources added. The STPF has been mooted on the lines of the Indian Reserve Battalions to protect the highly endangered big cats whose count stands at around 1,400 across the country.
As per the proposal, the STPF would comprise 1,680 personnel distributed in 15 companies each with a total strength of 120 personnel. Each company will have three platoons which in turn would have a sub-inspector of police assisted by six head constables and 30 constables, according to the proposal.
The personnel will get training from the state police department as well paramilitary forces for skill development, combating poaching and enabling intelligence-based enforcement in a forest terrain.
