New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh cabinet, on Tuesday, gave the nod for the development of the first tiger reserve in the Bundelkhand region in a bid to promote tiger conservation in the state, as per a PTI report.
In a meeting chaired by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the cabinet approved to notify Ranipur Tiger Reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The tiger reserve will span 52,989.863 hectares of land including 29,958.863 hectares of buffer area and 23,031.00 hectares of the core area which was already notified as Ranipur wildlife sanctuary in the Chitrakoot district of the state.
The statement issued by the state government, said a decision has also been taken to establish Ranipur Tiger Conservation Foundation along with sanctioning of requisite posts.
The Ranipur Tiger Reserve area covered by northern tropical dry deciduous forests is home to tiger, leopard, bear, spotted deer, sambhar, chinkara, reptiles and other mammals, it said.
The Ranipur Tiger Reserve will be turning point for the covservation of wildlife in Bundelkhand. Several employment opportunities will be open to the local population as this will hold a eco-tourism potential, reported PTI.
According to the 2018 tiger census, India has a tiger population of 2,967. The tiger estimation is conducted once every four years.
Uttar Pradesh has three tiger reserves - Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, Amangarh Tiger Reserve (originally a part of Jim Corbett).
The Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, one of the largest reserve of India, is located on the India-Nepal border, it stretches mainly across the Lakhimpur Kheri and Bahraich districts. Its undisturbed natural forest cover, vast spans of grasslands, and wetlands.
(With PTI inputs)