Different voices over tiger reserve likely to delay proposal

PANAJI: Even though the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has asked the Goa government to submit a proposal for a tiger reserve in Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, lack of consensus on the issue is likely to cause a delay, a senior state minister said.

"There are apprehensions about the tiger reserve among the people," State Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira said.

"The issue needs to be deliberated before taking a final stand," he said while addressing a youth convention in Panaji.

Former Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh had asked Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat to submit a proposal to declare Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve, which is spread across 280 sq kms.

Sequeira said there are two voices as far as setting up a tiger reserve is concerned. "One voice says that we want a tiger reserve, another says, we don't want it," he said, adding that the government is confronting the practical problem.

"The opposition to the tiger reserve is similar to the opposition to buffer zone, which was supposed to be 10 kms from the boundary of wildlife sanctuary or reserve forest," he added.