India got its 54th tiger reserve in Rajasthan's Karauli and Dholpur districts on Tuesday with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) approving a proposal in this regard.
This is Rajasthan's fifth tiger reserve after Ranthambore, Sariska, Mukundra Hills and Ramgarh Vishdhari.
"Giant leap for wildlife conservation in Rajasthan. Happy to announce that the state has got yet another Tiger Reserve.
"The Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve has been accorded the final approval by @ntca_india. Let's pledge to safeguard this precious ecosystem and its majestic tigers," Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav wrote on the microblogging site X.
Meanwhile, in-principle approval has been granted to declare Kumbhalgarh in Rajasthan as a Tiger Reserve.
"Glad to share that in-principle approval has been granted to declare Kumbhalgarh as a Tiger Reserve! This significant step towards wildlife conservation promises a brighter future for tigers and biodiversity in Rajasthan," Yadav said in another post on X.
The move will boost employment opportunities for the people of the region through ecotourism, he added.
The NTCA approved the proposal on August 4 and in-principle approval was cleared by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Tuesday. The proposed Kumbhalgarh reserve will be spread over around 2800 sq km. "Today is a historic day for Mewar and I express my immense gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and Union Minister Bhupender Yadav ji for giving a green signal for this project," said Rajsamand MP and NTCA member Diya Kumari.
"I have dedicated my full efforts to bring the project on the ground despite many impediments. I am happy that Union Government today has given in-principle approval and now we can hope that Kumbhalgarh will soon become a tiger reserve," she added. The number of tigers in India has increased from 2,967 in 2018 to 3,682 in 2022, an annual rise of 6 per cent, according to government data.
With a 50 per cent increase in the last four years, Madhya Pradesh has the maximum number of tigers in the country (785), followed by Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560), and Maharashtra (444).
The number of tigers in Rajasthan has increased from 32 in 2006 to 88 in 2022.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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