MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS
(SHRI S. REGUPATHY)
(a) & (b) The Tiger Task Force and the National Forest Commission have made several
recommendations for strengthening tiger and forest conservation respectively, which
interalia, include strengthening of professional expertise and providing basic facilities
to forest field staff.
(c) While the urgent recommendations of the Tiger Task Force are being implemented, the
report of the National Forest Commission has been examined for needful action by the Centre
and States.
(d) There is no proposal for captive breeding of tigers. The steps taken by the Government
for tiger conservation are at Annexure-I.
ANNEXURE-I
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (d) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3079 ON TIGER
TASK FORCE REPORT DUE FOR REPLY ON 5.09.2007.
The steps taken by the Government for tiger conservation are as below:-
Legal steps
1. Amendment of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 for providing enabling provisions
for constitution of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Tiger and Other
Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau. The punishment in cases of offence within a tiger
reserve has been enhanced. The Act also provides for forfeiture of any equipment, vehicle
or weapon that has been used for committing any wild life offence.
Administrative steps
2. Strengthening of antipoaching activities, including special strategy for monsoon
patrolling, by providing funding support to Tiger Reserve States, as proposed by them, for
deployment of antipoaching squads involving ex-army personnel / home guards, apart from
workforce comprising of local people, in addition to strengthening of communication /
wireless facilities.
3. Constitution of the National Tiger Conservation Authority with effect from 4.09.2006,
for strengthening tiger conservation by, interalia, ensuring normative standards in tiger
reserve management, preparation of reserve specific tiger conservation plan, laying down
annual / audit report before Parliament, constituting State level Steering Committees
under the Chairmanship of Chief Ministers and establishment of Tiger Conservation Foundation.
4. Constitution of a multidisciplinary Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control
Bureau (Wildlife Crime Control Bureau) with effect from 6.6.2007 comprising of officers
from Police, Forest, Customs and other enforcement agencies to effectively control illegal
trade in wildlife.
5. In principle approval accorded for declaring eight new Tiger Reserves.
Financial steps
6. Financial and technical help is provided to the States under various Centrally
Sponsored Schemes, viz. Project Tiger and Development of National Parks and Sanctuaries
for enhancing the capacity and infrastructure of the States for providing effective
protection to wild animals.
International Cooperation
7. India has a Memorandum of Understanding with Nepal on controlling trans-boundary
illegal trade in wildlife and conservation, apart from a protocol on tiger conservation
with China.
8. A Global Tiger Forum of Tiger Range Countries has been created for addressing
international issues related to tiger conservation.
9. During the 14th meeting of the Conference of Parties to CITES, which was held from
3rd to 15th June, 2007 at The Hague, India introduced a resolution along with China, Nepal
and the Russian Federation, which contains directions to Parties with operations breeding
tigers on a commercial scale, for restricting such captive populations to a level supportive
only to conserving wild tigers. The resolution was adopted with minor amendments. Further,
India made an intervention appealing to China to phase out tiger farming, and eliminate
stockpiles of Asian big cats body parts and derivatives. The importance of continuing the
ban on trade of body parts of tigers was emphasized.
