Kudremukh to be declared tiger reserve

NEW DELHI: Environment minister Jairam Ramesh has asked the Karnataka government to submit a proposal to declare the Kudremukh National Park in the Western Ghats as a tiger reserve. He has also ask to remove the machinery and infrastructure belonging to the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company inside the park.


The mining company was shut down following a Supreme Court order in 2002 to protect the Western Ghats. Though all major operations have been legally terminated sine December 2005, the company continues to keep the machinery in the area. "By declaring the Kudremukh National Park as a tiger reserve, any future threat to the area from mining can be prevented in the interest of bio-diversity conservation," Mr Ramesh wrote in his letter to Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa.


The last all-India tiger count found that the Kudremukh-Bhadra region has one of the three distinct tiger populations in Karnataka. Independent surveys conducted by Bangalore-based Centre for Wildlife Studies have also found that the area could potentially support a viable population of tigers.


The notification of Kudremukh as a tiger reserve would give the state access to central assistance under Project Tiger to help with relocation of families. Nearly 450 families have requested the state government to relocate them, and 12 families were relocated during last year.