The establishment of this reserve will enable more effective wildlife management, with support from the National Tiger Conservation Authority in the form of a dedicated budget, according to an official statement. Spanning 1,271.465 square kilometres, the Ratapani Tiger Reserve will include both a core area of 763 sq km and a buffer zone of 507 sq km.
The reserve encompasses nine villages located within its borders, but these villages are not included in the core area, as per the notification. It is also clarified that this designation will not affect the current rights of the villagers, and the core area will remain within the existing boundaries of the Ratapani Tiger Sanctuary.
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Located near the state capital Bhopal, the Ratapani forest will now benefit from enhanced protection and conservation efforts as part of the tiger reserve. Moreover, the National Tiger Conservation Authority ‘s technical committee recently approved the proposal to designate Madhav National Park in Shivpuri district as another tiger reserve, though the state government has yet to issue a formal notification about it.
Madhya Pradesh is home to the largest tiger population in India, with an estimated 785 tigers, according to the NTCA’s 2022 report. This makes the state the leading tiger conservation area in the country, surpassing Karnataka and Uttarakhand, which have tiger populations of 563 and 560, respectively.
(Edited by : Jerome Anthony)
