21,000 sq km of Natural Forest have been denuded between 2015-2017. According to an analysis by the Delhi-based environment group, Environment Impact Assessment Resource and Response Centre, the Indian government has, on an average, diverted 122 sq km of forests for development projects every year between 2014 and 2017. To put this in perspective, this is equivalent to forest land the size of 63 football grounds being cleared every day for three years. 399 Road, Irrigation, Power and Railway Projects worth $183 billlion are slated in Central Indian and Easter Ghats Tiger Landscape. These involve 08 States of India. 31% of the Tiger Population of India occurs here. That is, almost 700 Tigers.
Involves diversion of over 57,000 hectares of Forest Land. 25% – 35 % of Tigers live outside the Protected Tiger Reserves, hence exposing them to human-animal conflict and no legal respite for people incase of conflict matters. Surveillance of the dispersed animals also is severely compromised. Over 1600 people killed between 2013 – 2017 alone in Human-Animal Conflict Situations in India. Monoculture plantations/Parks/Botanical Gardens being included in “Green Cover” definition in statistics is a worrying trend and paints the wrong picture. 2016-2019 has seen over 100 Tiger Deaths per year, with 36 caused to accidents, electric shocks and other human-related reasons. In 118 cases, cause of death is unascertained.
