Lok Sabha Question No. 2900 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-21
Subject: Poaching Incidents
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Bhartruhari Mahtab

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2900

TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.03.2022

## Poaching Incidents

## 2900.  SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB:

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

- (a) whether number of poaching incidents in protected forest areas have increased during the  last  three  years  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof,  State/UT-wise  along  with  necessary measures taken by the Government in this regard;
- (b) the number of tigers in the country, State/UT- wise including Odisha;
- (c) the details of programmes being implemented by the Government for the conservation of tigers in the country; and;
- (d) the number of cases registered in connection with hunting of tigers and smuggling of tiger  skin  during  the  last  three  years  along  with  the  action  taken  by  the  Government thereon?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a) The  management  of  forest  and  wildlife,  including  control  of  poaching  and smuggling  of  wild  animals  and  their  parts,  is  primarily  the  responsibility  of State Governments/UT Administrations. As reported by the States, the details of tiger mortality during the last three years is at Annexure-I.

The  important  steps  taken  by  the  Government  for  protection  of  wildlife include:

- (i) The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 provides for stringent punishment for violation of its provisions. The Act also provides for forfeiture  of  any  equipment,  vehicle  or  weapon  that  is  used  for committing wildlife offence(s). Rare and endangered species found in India, like Tiger, Snow Leopard, Great Indian Bustard, Gangetic Dolphin,  Dugong,  etc.  have  been  listed  in  Schedule-I  of  the  Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 thereby providing them highest degree of protection.
- (ii) Financial assistance is provided to the State/Union Territory Governments under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of 'Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats', for providing better protection to wildlife and improvement of habitat.
- (iii) The  local  communities  are  involved  in  conservation  measures through eco-development activities which help the forest departments in protection of wildlife.
- (iv) The  Wildlife  Crime  Control  Bureau  (WCCB)  coordinates  with State/UTs  and  other  enforcement  agencies  to  gather  intelligence about  poaching  and  unlawful  trade  in  wild  animals  and  animal articles.
- (v) Alerts and advisories were issued by WCCB on poaching and illegal trade  of  wildlife  to  the  concerned  State  and  Central  agencies  for preventive action.
- (vi) The  Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change  has released  an  Advisory  on  management of  Human Wildlife Conflict in February 2021 which also contains measures for improvement of wildlife habitats
- (b) The  number  of  tigers  in  the  country,  State/UT-  wise  including  Odisha  is  at Annexure-II .
- (c) Financial  assistance  is  provided  under  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of 'Project  Tiger'  to  tiger  range  States  for  conservation  of  tigers.  The  activities undertaken under the scheme include raising awareness, habitat management, protection, eco-development, human resource and infrastructure development, and voluntary village relocation.
- (d) Control  of  hunting  and  smuggling  of  wild  animals  and  their  parts  is  the responsibility  of  concerned  State  Governments/UT  Administrations.  As  per records  available  with  the  Wildlife  Crime  Control  Bureau  based  on  the information  received  from  the  States/Union  Territories  Forest  and  Police Authorities, the number of Tiger cases during the last three years are as under:

|   S.No |   Year |   Number of Tiger cases |
|--------|--------|-------------------------|
|      1 |   2019 |                      25 |
|      2 |   2020 |                      13 |
|      3 |   2021 |                      26 |

## Annexure-I

Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of the Lok  Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2900 regarding 'Poaching Incidents' raised by Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, due for reply on 21.03.2022

***

## Details of tiger mortality during last three years

| State          |   Year2019 |   Year2020 |   Year2021 |
|----------------|------------|------------|------------|
| Andhra Pradesh |          1 |          1 |          1 |
| Assam          |          5 |          6 |          6 |
| Bihar          |          1 |          1 |          4 |
| Chhattisgarh   |          1 |          1 |          4 |
| Goa            |          0 |          4 |          0 |
| Gujarat        |          1 |          0 |          0 |
| Jharkhand      |          0 |          1 |          0 |
| Karnataka      |         12 |         12 |         15 |
| Kerala         |          1 |         10 |          6 |
| Madhya Pradesh |         31 |         29 |         42 |
| Maharashtra    |         18 |         16 |         27 |
| Rajasthan      |          3 |          3 |          1 |
| Tamil Nadu     |          7 |          8 |          4 |
| Telangana      |          2 |          0 |          4 |
| Uttar Pradesh  |          4 |          9 |          9 |
| Uttarakhand    |          7 |          4 |          3 |
| West Bengal    |          2 |          1 |          1 |
| Total          |         96 |        106 |        127 |

***

## Annexure-II

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2900 regarding 'Poaching Incidents' raised by Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, due for reply on 21.03.2022

***

## Details of tiger estimation pertaining to tiger landscapes in the country for the year 2018

| State                                                                | Tiger Population                                                     |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Shivalik-Gangetic Plain Landscape Complex                            | Shivalik-Gangetic Plain Landscape Complex                            |
| Uttarakhand                                                          | 442                                                                  |
| Uttar Pradesh                                                        | 173                                                                  |
| Bihar                                                                | 31                                                                   |
| Central Indian Landscape Complex and Eastern Ghats Landscape Complex | Central Indian Landscape Complex and Eastern Ghats Landscape Complex |
| Andhra Pradesh                                                       | 48                                                                   |
| Telangana                                                            | 26                                                                   |
| Chhattisgarh                                                         | 19                                                                   |
| Madhya Pradesh                                                       | 526                                                                  |
| Maharashtra                                                          | 312                                                                  |
| Odisha                                                               | 28                                                                   |
| Rajasthan                                                            | 69                                                                   |
| Jharkhand                                                            | 5                                                                    |
| Western Ghats Landscape Complex                                      | Western Ghats Landscape Complex                                      |
| Karnataka                                                            | 524                                                                  |
| Kerala                                                               | 190                                                                  |
| Tamil Nadu                                                           | 264                                                                  |
| Goa                                                                  | 3                                                                    |
| North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains                     | North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains                     |
| Assam                                                                | 190                                                                  |
| Arunachal Pradesh                                                    | 29                                                                   |
| Sunderbans                                                           | 88                                                                   |
| TOTAL                                                                | 2967                                                                 |