Chhattisgarh Establishes Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla as Fourth Tiger Reserve

Tags: State News

The Chhattisgarh government announced the creation of a new tiger reserve named Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve.

An Overview of the News

• This marks the fourth tiger reserve in Chhattisgarh, alongside Indravati Tiger Reserve (Bijapur), Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve (Gariaband), and Achanakmar Tiger Reserve (Mungeli).

• The decision was made in a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai after recommendations from the State Wildlife Board and approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India (GoI).

• The NTCA will provide additional budgetary support for the operations of the Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve.

Background and Proposal History

• In 2012, the Chhattisgarh State Wildlife Board decided to declare the combined area of Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Sanctuary as a tiger reserve.

• A proposal was submitted to the NTCA in August 2014, and the NTCA gave its in-principle approval in October 2014.

• The final approval for the creation of the tiger reserve was granted by the NTCA in 2021, but further action by the state authorities was delayed until now.

• The Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve will cover an expansive area of 2,829.387 square kilometers across the districts of Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur, Koriya, Surajpur, and Balrampur.

Chhattisgarh

• Capital: Raipur

• State Bird: Common Hill Myna

• Wildlife Sanctuaries:

  • Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary

  • Udanti Wild Buffalo Wildlife Sanctuary

• Tiger Reserve: Indravati Tiger Reserve

• Chief Minister (CM): Vishnu Deo Sai

• Governor: Ramen Deka