JAIPUR: Rajasthan is poised to get its fourth tiger reserve after Ramgarh Vishdhari wildlife sanctuary received a nod from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)’s technical committee.
Chief wildlife warden (CWLW), Mohan Lal Meena said, the process to notify the tiger reserve will soon begin after receiving the formal correspondence from NTCA.
“The nod has been received by the NTCA’s technical committee on Monday.
Work to notify the tiger reserve will begin soon.” The tigers were believed to have disappeared from the sanctuary in 1999.
After the chief minister, Ashok Gehlot in his budget speech announced to upgrade the forest into a reserve, the process was expedited.
The total area of 1,017 sq.
km that has been identified as the reserve area comprising two forest blocks of Bhilwara, territorial forest block of Bundi and Indargarh, which falls under buffer zone of Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR).
The upgrade in the status is expected to strengthen the ongoing tiger conservation efforts in the state.
In 2013, the Rajasthan government had upgraded Mukundra hills sanctuary as the third tiger reserve.
Prior to the formation of the state of Rajasthan, these forests were a part of the erstwhile Bundi princely states and were managed as hunting reserves.
After Independence, these forests came under the control of the government of Rajasthan.
In1982, a part of the forest was declared as Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary under Section 5 of the Rajasthan Wild Animals and Birds Protection Act, 1951.
The core area of the Ramgarh Vishdhari has eight villages.
The sanctuary currently has leopards, sambhars, chitals, wildboars, smaller cats, caracals, chinkaras and nilgai.