New Delhi, Jan. 27: Is the fate of one more tiger reserve in jeopardy? The National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) decision to slice the Pench tiger reserve in two by building a four-lane highway (N.H. 7) through it could well mean the death knell for the 30 tigers living in this reserve.

The Pench tiger reserve, 411 sq. km. in area, has been notified by the Madhya Pradesh government as being a critical tiger habitat. It is contiguous to the Kanha tiger reserve which at present houses 89 tigers. The Pench-Kanha reserves are known to be one of the four most viable tiger habitats in the country, the others being the Western Ghats, Corbett Park and Kaziranga in Assam.
Since both Pench and Kanha are contiguous they allow animal movements from one reserve to another. Belinda Wright, executive director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, points out, “The Pench reserve on its own is too small a habitat to be viable for the tiger to survive. They need a larger habitat and this is what we have been pointing out to the government.”
The NHAI, on the other hand, as part of the Golden Quadrilateral wants to built a four-lane highway connecting Nagpur to Jabalpur. They also want to widen a 47-km stretch which will cut through the South Seoni forest division, warn conservationists.
“The Madhya Pradesh government has cleared the project and the ball is now in the hands of the Centre, which has to give its clearance,” said Ms Wright, adding, “The Prime Minister is very concerned about the tiger. He also realises we cannot afford to eat into an inch of our protected areas.”
This concern is shared by Dr Rajesh Gopal, member secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, who also insists that road-widening “will damage the tiger habit irreversibly”.
The National Board for Wildlife and the Wildlife Trust of India have raised the matter before the Central Empowered Committee set up by the Supreme Court. They have also suggested that the NHAI use an alternate route between Chhindwara and Seoni.
“This means laying an additional 60 km of metal track but it will save the tiger reserve,” said tiger conservationist Valmik Thapar. He believes this issue has escalated because of “the lop-sided land-use policies of the government in which two important ministries (surface transport and environment) have not sat down together to try and resolve this problem”.
Conservationists point out that the present surface transport minister, Mr Kamal Nath, has also served as environment minister and Chhindwara is the constituency from which he invariably fights elections. “He should have no problem in allowing for the relocation of the road,” conservationists point out. Mr Nath was unavailable for comment; he is currently attending the WEF summit in Davos.
As an alternative, the NHAI has suggested  the construction of an elevated road over the reserve or else the construction of an underpass to allow animals to pass. This suggestion has been rejected unanimously by conservationists.
On January 21, the Supreme Court ruled that environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh look afresh into the whole matter.
Four tigers have already died in the first three weeks of 2010. One was found dead in Kerala, two in Corbett and one near Dudhwa. Mr Ramesh is blaming the Chinese government for not clamping down on smugglers, but animal lovers are hoping he will come forward to save one of the last tiger habitats in the world.

Rashme Sehgal