Thursday, January 31, 2008

Govt To Carry On Project Tiger In 11th Plan; Allots Rs 600 Crore

New Delhi: The government will continue with a central scheme called ''Project Tiger'' during the current 11th Plan and okayed an estimated Rs 600 crore for the purpose. According to Finance Minister P Chidambaram, the money would be used to rehabilitate people living in core area or critical tiger habitat and implement safeguard and retrofitting measures in the interest of wildlife conservation. He said the scheme would also rehabilitate and resettling denotified tribes involved in traditional hunting, and mainstreaming livelihood and wildlife concerns in forests outside tiger reserves.

The money would also be spent on establishing eight new tiger reserves in states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Assam, Chidambaram said. The government would also foster corridor conservation through restorative strategy to arrest fragmentation of habitats. The project also seeks to provide basic infrastructure for strengthening the National Tiger Conservation Authority and establishing a monitoring lab in the Wildlife Institute of India. A part of the outlay would go toward ensuring allowance to ministerial staff working in tiger reserves as well as to promote eco tourism.

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