Officials negligent: Wildlife dept after red flags over MP tiger deaths

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Last Updated22/08/2024

NTCA sought a response from the Madhya Pradesh Wildlife Department regarding the red flags raised by an SIT.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has taken note of serious concerns regarding the management of tiger conservation efforts in Madhya Pradesh, following a series of reports highlighting negligence and procedural lapses in handling tiger deaths in the state.

A report published on August 6 brought to light the findings of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) that examined the deaths of 43 tigers between 2021 and 2023 in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) and Shahdol Forest Circle.
The SIT report flagged several critical issues, including inadequate investigations into poaching cases, procedural lapses during postmortems, and instances of medical negligence that may have contributed to the deaths of these tigers.

In response to the alarming findings, the NTCA requested an explanation from the Madhya Pradesh Wildlife Department. Subharanjan Sen, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), acknowledged in a letter dated August 9 that Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the NTCA were not fully adhered to in some cases. This admission points to systemic failures in the enforcement of guidelines designed to protect and conserve the tiger population.

The SIT report identified that 34 of the 43 tiger deaths occurred within the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, with nine more in the Shahdol Forest Circle. The investigation found that 30 of these deaths took place under the tenures of three former field directors, who were criticized for failing to follow NTCA guidelines. These directors include Vincent Rahim, B.S. Anigeri, and Rajiv Kumar Mishra, who served in various capacities from 2019 to 2023.

Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey, who has been actively pursuing legal action on tiger poaching incidents, announced plans to approach the High Court for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter.