Lok Sabha Question No. 2738 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-15
Subject: Poaching of Tigers
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: SANJAY HARIBHAU JADHAV, RODMAL NAGAR, RANGASWAMY DHRUVANARAYANA, DALPAT SINGH PARASTE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2738 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15.12.2015

## Poaching of Tigers

## 2738.  SHRI SANJAY HARIBHAU JADHAV:

SHRI NAGAR RODMAL:

SHRI R. DHRUVA NARAYANA:

SHRI DALPAT SINGH PARASTE:

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

- (a) whether it is a fact that about 55 tigers have died across the country upto 21 November, 2015 as per records of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and TRAFFIC India, the wildlife trade monitoring programme;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether many of the tigers have died after being caught in snares or traps laid by poachers;
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  prevent  poaching  and  to curb such illegal acts; and
- (e) whether the Government is considering the use of drones to patrol the natural habitats of tigers and other endangered species to prevent poaching and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)

- (a) & (b) Yes Sir.  56 tigers died during the said period.  The details are at Annexure-I. The same is also available in public domain at www.tigernet.nic.in.
- (c) & (d) No  Sir.    Only  one  confirmed  case  of  tiger  poaching  using  snares  or  traps  has  been reported  from  State  of  Madhya  Pradesh.    The  Government  of  India  through  the National Tiger Conservation Authority / Project Tiger has taken a number of steps for protection of tiger and other wildlife interalia, including steps to prevent poaching, and to curb other illegal acts.  The same are at Annexure-II.
- (e) Yes Sir.  The use of drones has been considered by the Government and pilot-tested in Panna Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh.  Need based use is being done by other tiger reserves also.

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## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  &  (b)  OF  THE LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2738 ON POACHING OF TIGERS DUE FOR REPLY ON 15.12.2015.

## State-wise details of tiger death across the country, as reported by States (upto 21 November, 2015)

| S. No.   | State             |   Inside Tiger Reserve |   Outside Tiger Reserve |
|----------|-------------------|------------------------|-------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh    |                      0 |                       0 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh |                      0 |                       0 |
| 3        | Assam             |                      2 |                       0 |
| 4        | Bihar             |                      2 |                       0 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh      |                      0 |                       0 |
| 6        | Jharkhand         |                      0 |                       0 |
| 7        | Karnataka         |                     14 |                       0 |
| 8        | Kerala            |                      5 |                       1 |
| 9        | Madhya Pradesh    |                      8 |                       3 |
| 10       | Maharashtra       |                      2 |                       3 |
| 11       | Mizoram           |                      0 |                       0 |
| 12       | Odisha            |                      0 |                       0 |
| 13       | Rajasthan         |                      1 |                       0 |
| 14       | Tamil Nadu        |                      4 |                       1 |
| 15       | Telangana         |                      0 |                       0 |
| 16       | Uttar Pradesh     |                      1 |                       0 |
| 17       | Uttarakhand       |                      2 |                       4 |
| 18       | West Bengal       |                      3 |                       0 |
|          | TOTAL             |                     44 |                      12 |
|          | GRAND TOTAL       |                     56 |                      56 |

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## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (c)  &  (d)  OF  THE LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2738 ON POACHING OF TIGERS DUE FOR REPLY ON 15.12.2015.

The Government of India through the National Tiger Conservation Authority / Project Tiger has taken a  number  of  steps  for  protection  of  tiger  and  other  wildlife  interalia,  including  steps  to  prevent poaching and to curb other illegal acts:

- 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
- Advising the States for combing forest floor to check snares / traps
- Transmitting backward / forward linkages of information relating to poachers
- Performing  supervisory  field  visits  through  the  National  Tiger  Conservation  Authority  and  its regional offices
- Using  information  technology  for  improved  surveillance  (e-Eye  surveillance  system)  using thermal cameras launched in Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand and Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, Assam and Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh
- 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  24  lakh  mandays  are  generated  annually  with  50%  central assistance amounting to around Rs. 24 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.  The deployment of such local tribals has been fostered / encouraged in the last three years].
- 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.
- Use of modern technology like Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Drones).

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