Question : TIGER RESERVES

(a) whether the Government has proposed a compensation package for relocating villagers from the tiger reserves;

(b) if so, the details of the compensation package proposed therefor;

(c) the number of villages, in and around the twenty-eight tiger reserves, to be evacuated/compensated;

(d) whether the National Tiger Conservation Authority in its recent meeting has discussed the relocation of hundreds of villages;

(e) if so, the decisions arrived at the said meeting; and

(f) the steps taken by the Government thereon?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS (SHRI NAMO NARAIN MEENA)

(a), (b) & (c) Action has been taken for developing a model involuntary village relocation/rehabilitation package through a professional agency, fulfilling the requirements of the National Relief and Rehabilitation Policy. Simultaneously, the Wildlife Institute of India has been directed to assess the core areas of tiger reserves where village relocation has to be undertaken, in addition to other protected areas of the country within a timeframe.

(d), (e) & (f) The issue of village relocation was discussed in the first meeting of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. It was decided that based on the finalised list of villages to be relocated, a schedule would be drawn up for working with the States to relocate such villages and allocate funds.