Lok Sabha Question No. 225 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-21
Subject: National Tiger Conservation Authority
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Dushyant Singh

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 225

TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.07.2025

## National Tiger Conservation Authority

## 225. SHRI DUSHYANT SINGH:

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

- (a) the current population of tigers in the country and whether there has been any increase or decrease in the recent years and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  details  of  the  specific  measures  taken  by  the  National  Tiger  Conservation Authority (NTCA) to enhance the tiger conservation efforts across the country and the manner in which these measures contributed to the overall population trends;
- (c) the current status of tiger conservation in the Mukundra Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan and whether there has been any progress in the efforts to boost the tiger population in this reserve;
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  steps  taken/being  taken  to  address  the challenges specific to this region; and
- (e) the measures taken by the NTCA to ensure the protection and monitoring of tigers in lesser-known  or  smaller  reserves  like  Mukundra  along  with  the  role  played  by  the local communities in these conservation efforts?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

- (a) The tiger population has increased as per the All India Tiger Estimation done in 2022, with an estimated number of 3682 (range 3167-3925) as compared to the 2018 estimation of 2967 (range 2603-3346) and 2014 estimation of 2226 (range 1945-2491).  The details of tiger estimation pertaining to tiger landscapes in the country, for the years 2014, 2018 and 2022 is at Annexure-I.
- (b) The  steps taken by  the  Government  of  India  through  the  National  Tiger Conservation Authority  (NTCA)  for  conservation  and  protection  of  tigers  is  as under:-

## 1. Generic measures

-  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),  which  is  now  ongoing  as  the  Centrally  Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger & Elephant
-  Providing  grant  through NTCA for patrolling in tiger rich  sensitive forest areas outside tiger reserves besides under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger & Elephant
-  Disseminating  of  real  time  information  of  backward  /  forward  linkages relating to poachers / wildlife criminals.
-  Performing supervisory field visits through the National Tiger Conservation Authority and its regional offices
-  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  deploy  local  workforce  in  a  big  way  for  protection  to complement the efforts of field staff [In all, approximately 43 lakh mandays are generated annually]
-  Sharing  of  information  on  seizure  of  body  parts  including  skin  of  tigers among tiger range countries to ascertain source area.

## 2. Security Plan

The  National  Tiger  Conservation  Authority  has  issued  generic  guidelines  for formulating a Security Plan for each tiger reserve which is operationalized in the overarching Tiger Conservation Plan which is legally mandated under section 38 V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

## 3. Security Audit

The  National  Tiger  Conservation  Authority  has  developed  a  framework  for carrying  out  the  assessment  of  the  security  threats  and  for  formulating  site specific security plan which has been completed in 25 different tiger reserves in Phase-I and action has been initiated for the remaining tiger reserves.

## 4. M-STrIPES  (Monitoring System for Tigers Intensive-Protection  & Ecological Status)

This  is  an  android  application  which  has  three  distinct  modules  namely  Patrol module, Ecological module and Conflict module. The Patrol module inter-alia is a  mechanism  to  ensure  accountability  of  front  line  staff  vis-à-vis  anti-poaching efforts  and  useful  for  the  tiger  reserve  management  to  strengthen  protection measures, based on data that is generated through M-STrIPES.

## 5. Amendment to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

The  Government  of  India  amended  the  Wildlife  (Protection)  Act,  1972  and enhanced punishment for offence in relation to the core area of a tiger reserve or where  the  offence  relates  to hunting  in  the  tiger  reserves or altering the boundaries of tiger reserves.

Further,  funding  assistance  is  provided  under  the  Project  Tiger Component of the ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Integrated Development  of  Wildlife Habitats (CSS-IDWH)  to  tiger  range States for conservation of tigers, raising awareness on tiger & other wildlife conservation, habitat management, protection, eco-development, human resource and infrastructure development, voluntary village relocation, as per sanctioned

Annual Plan of Operation of the Tiger Reserve, which stems out from a statutory Tiger Conservation Plan.

- (c) to (e) As per the All  India  Tiger  Estimation done in 2022  the  population  of  tigers  in Mukundra  Hills Tiger Reserve is one. Further the  NTCA  has  approved translocation  of  tigers  and  its  prey  in  Mukundra  Hills  Tiger  Reserve  (MHTR). Further, The Government of India has notified the National Tiger Conservation Authority (Normative Standards for Tourism and Project Tiger) Guidelines, 2012 for  management  of  tigers  &  their  habitats  along  with  advisories  and  Standard Operating Procedures for protection and conservation of tigers.

Also  as  per  Tiger  Conservation  Plans,  need  based  and  site-specific management interventions are undertaken by the tiger reserves for improving the quality  of  wildlife  habitat  and  funding  support  for  these  activities  is  provided under the Project Tiger component of the ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats.

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## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  THE  OF  THE  LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 225 ON NATIONAL TIGER CONSERVATION AUTHORITY DUE FOR REPLY ON 21.07.2025

Details of tiger estimation pertaining to tiger landscapes in the country, for the years 2014, 2018 and 2022 (As per All India Tiger Estimation Reports)

| State                                                                | Tiger Population                                                     | Tiger Population                                                     | Tiger Population                                                     |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                      | 2014                                                                 | 2018                                                                 | 2022                                                                 |
| Shivalik-Gangetic Plain Landscape Complex                            | Shivalik-Gangetic Plain Landscape Complex                            | Shivalik-Gangetic Plain Landscape Complex                            | Shivalik-Gangetic Plain Landscape Complex                            |
| Uttarakhand                                                          | 340                                                                  | 442                                                                  | 560                                                                  |
| Uttar Pradesh                                                        | 117                                                                  | 173                                                                  | 205                                                                  |
| Bihar                                                                | 28                                                                   | 31                                                                   | 54                                                                   |
| Shivalik Gangetic                                                    | 485                                                                  | 646                                                                  | 819                                                                  |
| Central Indian Landscape Complex and Eastern Ghats Landscape Complex | Central Indian Landscape Complex and Eastern Ghats Landscape Complex | Central Indian Landscape Complex and Eastern Ghats Landscape Complex | Central Indian Landscape Complex and Eastern Ghats Landscape Complex |
| Andhra Pradesh                                                       | 68                                                                   | 48                                                                   | 63                                                                   |
| Telangana                                                            | -                                                                    | 26                                                                   | 21                                                                   |
| Chhattisgarh                                                         | 46                                                                   | 19                                                                   | 17                                                                   |
| Madhya Pradesh                                                       | 308                                                                  | 526                                                                  | 785                                                                  |
| Maharashtra                                                          | 190                                                                  | 312                                                                  | 444                                                                  |
| Odisha                                                               | 28                                                                   | 28                                                                   | 20                                                                   |
| Rajasthan                                                            | 45                                                                   | 69                                                                   | 88                                                                   |
| Jharkhand                                                            | 3                                                                    | 5                                                                    | 1                                                                    |
| Central India                                                        | 688                                                                  | 1033                                                                 | 1439                                                                 |
| Western Ghats Landscape Complex                                      | Western Ghats Landscape Complex                                      | Western Ghats Landscape Complex                                      | Western Ghats Landscape Complex                                      |
| Karnataka                                                            | 406                                                                  | 524                                                                  | 563                                                                  |
| Kerala                                                               | 136                                                                  | 190                                                                  | 213                                                                  |
| Tamil Nadu                                                           | 229                                                                  | 264                                                                  | 306                                                                  |
| Goa                                                                  | 5                                                                    | 3                                                                    | 5                                                                    |
| Western Ghats                                                        | 776                                                                  | 981                                                                  | 1087                                                                 |
| North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains                     | North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains                     | North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains                     | North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains                     |
| Assam                                                                | 167                                                                  | 190                                                                  | 229                                                                  |
| Arunachal Pradesh                                                    | 28                                                                   | 29                                                                   | 9                                                                    |
| Mizoram                                                              | 3                                                                    | 0                                                                    | 0                                                                    |
| Nagaland                                                             | -                                                                    | 0                                                                    | 0                                                                    |
| Northern West Bengal                                                 | 3                                                                    | 0                                                                    | 2                                                                    |
| North East Hills, and Brahmaputra                                    | 201                                                                  | 219                                                                  | 236                                                                  |
| Sunderbans                                                           | 76                                                                   | 88                                                                   | 101                                                                  |
| TOTAL                                                                | 2226                                                                 | 2967                                                                 | 3682                                                                 |

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