New Delhi [India], June 29 (ANI): Congress leader and party's General Secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh attacked the Centre on Sunday for a proposed plan to redraw the boundaries of the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, allowing 50 mining companies to resume operations.

In a post on X, Ramesh said, 'Now the boundary of the tiger reserve is about to get redrawn. This will enable 50 mining companies which have been closed down to resume operations. Getting the full involvement of local communities in the sustainable management of tiger reserves is essential and goes without saying. But this particular move to reopen the 50 mines (marble, dolomite, limestone, and masonic stone) will adversely impact the tiger habitat - a habitat that has been regenerated in the face of great odds.'

The reopening of mines will fragment the critical tiger habitat, potentially devastating the ecosystem and threatening the tiger population.

The Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, once on the brink of collapse due to poaching, has made a remarkable recovery with a current tiger count of 48. However, a new threat looms large as the boundary of the reserve is set to be redrawn.

https://x.com/Jairam_Ramesh/status/1939170272407687461

Taking a jibe at the 'double-engine' government, the party leader pointed out that both the union and state environment ministers are from Alwar district, where the reserve is located.

'The Union Environment Minister is from Alwar. So is the Environment Minister of Rajasthan. Surely this double engine cannot be supporting such corridor fragmentation to benefit the mine owners,' the Congress General Secretary's post read.

The Rajya Sabha MP further praised the previous Manmohan Singh-led government for working to preserve the Tiger population.

'The tiger population at Sariska had been reduced to exactly zero by December 2004 thanks to an hyper-active poaching network. This created a nation-wide shock and led to the creation of the Tiger Task Force in April 2005 and to a meeting of Manmohan Singh with chief wildlife wardens of different states at the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in May 2005. Subsequently the National Tiger Conservation Authority came into being in Dec 2005 and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau in June 2007,' his post read.

He also praised the efforts for increasing the tiger population, despite certain earlier doubts regarding relocation of Tigers from Panna reserve to Sariska, 'Thereafter along with the Panna Tiger Reserve, relocation was initiated at Sariska -in the face of considerable scepticism from some experts themselves- and today the tiger count stands at a historic high of 48.'

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh suggests that the Supreme Court may need to intervene to prevent the destruction of the tiger habitat, citing violations of its directives.

In May of last year, SC had forbidden any mining activity within a 1 kilometre radius around Sariska Tiger Reserve and also asked the states to formulate closure plans to comply with its order.

Sariska Tiger Reserve is situated in the Aravalli Hills, one of the world's oldest mountain ranges. The reserve is 35 km from Alwar, 250 km southwest of Delhi and 110 km northeast of Jaipur. The former hunting reserve of the Maharaja of Alwar, the Sariska valley, is home to a variety of flora and fauna.

The park has populations of tigers, leopards, Nilgai, Sambar, chital etc. The place is a paradise for bird lovers as it shelters a large population of Indian peafowl, crested serpent eagles, sand grouse, golden-backed woodpeckers, great Indian horned owls, tree pies, vultures and many others. (ANI)