New Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS) With 17 of India’s 38 tiger reserves in a “precarious condition”, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh Wednesday said the government may approach World Bank for monetary help to relocate people from the fringe areas of these reserves.
“Of the 38 tiger reserves in the country, we have found that 17 are in a precarious condition and have set up a task force to examine their status,” Ramesh told reporters here.

“We have to relocate over 100,000 families from 38 tiger reserves in the country, of which only 3,000 people have been shifted out so far. We have to enhance land productivity and diversify livelihood generating measures in the fringe areas to ensure that relocated villagers do not try to return to their original habitat (reserves),” Ramesh said.

“World Bank help is being mooted for the task on experimental basis and pilot project in Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh has been proposed,” he said.

Emphasising that states need to be involved in the whole activity, Ramesh said: “We need to think really differently how to make states partners in this endeavour. In the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) meeting next month, we will ensure that they are one of the key stakeholders in tiger protection through World Bank aid.”

He said a Wildlife Conservation and Management Amendment Bill would be introduced in the next budget session of parliament to ensure stringent penalty measures against the law breakers.

“The bill will have punishment measures equivalent to the money laundering and foreign exchange law,” Ramesh said.

The minister also underlined the need to strengthen policing across international borders with Nepal and Myanmar to check tiger poaching.