Govt reconstitutes tiger conservation body

NEW DELHI: The government has reconstituted the National Tiger Conservation Authority ( NTCA) with prominent wildlife activist and BJP MP Maneka Gandhi as one of its members.

Headed by Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh who is the chairman, the authority has eight experts with experience in wildlife conservation and the welfare of people, including the indigenous tribes, besides two Members of Parliament namely Rajya Sabha MP Santosh Bagrodia and Gandhi.

The wildlife experts are Brijendra Singh, Valmik Thapar, P K Sen, Prakash Mulidhar Amte, Urmila Pingle, K Ullas Karanth, Samar Singh and Aparjita Dutta.

The Authority was constituted under the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006, as recommended by the Tiger Task Force at the initiation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The authority was reconstituted early this month after it was first set up three years ago.

The Authority deliberates on several issues relating to 38 tiger reserves spread across 17 states covering anti-poaching, infrastructure, man-animal conflict and co-existence in buffer and core areas.