1,411 tigers an exaggeration: Environment minister

17 February, 2010

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1,411 tigers an exaggeration: Environment minister

February 17, 2010

New Delhi: With 72 tiger deaths at several reserves in the past 14 months, the ministry of environment and forests has admitted for the first time that India may not have 1,411 big cats left.

The ministry has accepted that the figure calculated by its own experts was 'exaggerated'. Blaming development projects and land mafia for tiger deaths in Jim Corbett tiger reserve and Tadoba in Maharashtra, the ministry said tiger habitats across India are under severe threat.

"The figure of 1,411 tigers in India is exaggerated in my view. The number is lower than what is being highlighted. There is concerted effort to kill tigers and leopards by land mafia around Corbett park," environment minister Jairam Ramesh said.

Uttarakhand’s environment advisory committee rejected the
minister’s claims. The panel said all 164 tigers of Corbett and 12 tigers of Rajaji National Park were safe.

In another effort to protect the diminishing number of big cats in the country, the environment ministry on Tuesday denied permission to a coal mining project by Adani Power and Maharashtra Coal Company in Tadoba tiger reserve.