Lok Sabha Question No. 2112 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-11-29
Subject: Special Tiger Protection Force
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: RAJU ALIAS DEVAPPA ANNA SHETTI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2112

TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.11.2016

## Special Tiger Protection Force

## 2112.  SHRI RAJU SHETTY:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to amend the guidelines of Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) for deployment of forest guards in place of local police and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  details  of  funds  allocated  to  National  Tiger  Conservation  Authority  for  enhancing  the number of personnel in STPF and providing arms to them as well as for their deployment; and
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to check illegal poaching of wild animals?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  (INDEPENDENT  CHARGE)  FOR  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI ANIL MADHAV DAVE)

- (a) There  is  no  proposal  to  make  amendments  in  the  existing  guidelines  of  Special  Tiger Protection Force (STPF) since both options, either of Police personnel (option-I) or of forest personnel (option-II) are available.  There is no provision for posting of local police in STPF.
- (b) Funding support to tiger reserves under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of 'Project Tiger' is provided  for  various  activities,  which inter  alia ,  includes  funding  for  raising,  arming  and deploying of Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) also.  There is no proposal for enhancing number  of  personnel  from  the  existing  number  of  112  in  STPF  battalion  in  tiger  reserves where raising, arming and deployment of the same has been sanctioned.
- (c) The  steps  taken  by  the  Government  of  India  through  the  National  Tiger  Conservation Authority to check illegal poaching of wild animals including tiger is at Annexure-I .

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (c) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2112 ON SPECIAL TIGER PROTECTION FORCE DUE FOR REPLY ON 29.11.2016

## Steps taken by the Government of India through the National Tiger Conservation Authority to check illegal poaching of wild animals including tiger

-  Providing  assistance  to  States  under  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  'Project  Tiger'  for protection, infrastructure and antipoaching operations (including deployment of Tiger Protection Force and Special Tiger Protection Force)
-  Providing  grant  through  NTCA  for  patrolling  in  tiger  rich  sensitive  forest  areas  outside  tiger reserves
-  Alerting the States as and when required
-  Transmitting backward / forward linkages of information relating to poachers
-  Advising the States for combing forest floor to check snares / traps
-  Performing  supervisory  field  visits  through  the  National  Tiger  Conservation  Authority  and  its regional offices
-  Using information technology for improved surveillance (e-Eye system) using thermal cameras
-  Launching  tiger  reserve  level  monitoring  using  camera  trap  to  keep  a  photo  ID  database  of individual tigers
-  Preparing a national database of individual tiger photo captures to establish linkage with body parts seized or dead tigers
-  Assisting  States  to  refine  protection  oriented  monitoring  through  monitoring  system  for  tiger's intensive protection and ecological status (M-STrIPES)
-  Assisting States to deploy local workforce in a big way for protection to complement the efforts of  field  staff  [In  all,  approximately  25  lakh  mandays  are  generated  annually  with  50%  central assistance amounting to around Rs. 25 crores (excluding matching 50% share given by States) under Project Tiger.  Many local tribes constitute such local workforce (besides non-tribals), eg. Baigas, Gonds in Madhya Pradesh, Gonds in Maharashtra, Chenchus in Andhra Pradesh, Sholigas in Karnataka, Gujjars in Uttarakhand and Irulas in Tamil Nadu to name a few.
-  Initiative  taken  for  collaboration  of  National  Tiger  Conservation  Authority  and  Wildlife Crime Control  Bureau  towards  an  online  tiger  /  wildlife  crime  tracking  /  reporting  system  in  tiger reserves and to coordinate with INTERPOL for checking trans-border trade of wildlife products.
-  Raising, arming and deploying of Special Rhino Protection Force in the lines of Special Tiger Protection Force for Kaziranga Tiger Reserve.
-  Insurance / Corpus Fund for staff of Kaziranga Tiger Reserve.
-  Motivating tiger reserve administration / tiger States to ensure conviction of criminals through pursuance of cases in different courts.
-  Bilateral co-operation with neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan.
-  Sharing  of  information  on  seizure  of  body  parts  including  skin  of  tigers  among  tiger  range countries  to  ascertain  source  area.    India  made  a  proposal  in  this  regard  in  CITES  CoP-17  in Johannesburg which was agreed by member countries.

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