A Supreme Court-appointed committee has questioned relaxations given for upgrade of a 4.7-km road in the buffer zone of Rajaji Tiger Reserve and sought replies from the Centre and Uttarakhand government.
Context
A Supreme Court-appointed committee has questioned relaxations given for upgrade of a 4.7-km road in the buffer zone of Rajaji Tiger Reserve and sought replies from the Centre and Uttarakhand government.
Core and Buffer Area of a Tiger Reserve
- According to the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act of 2006, a tiger reserve must have a core or critical habitat and a buffer zone peripheral to it.
- The critical habitat is supposed to be kept inviolate for conservation.
- A buffer zone is needed to ensure the integrity of the habitat with adequate space for dispersal of tigers.
- It is aimed at promoting coexistence between wildlife and human activity.
About Rajaji tiger reserve
- Rajaji tiger reserve is located at the Himalayan foothills, near Haridwar, Rishikesh and Dehradun, with Ganga and Song rivers flowing through it.
- At present, Rajaji Tiger Reserve has around 37 tigers with only two tigresses in its western part, which is spread over 570 sq km.
- The total area of Rajaji tiger reserve spread over 820 km2 (320 sq mi).
- Rajaji National Park was established in the year 1983 after amalgamating three sanctuaries in the Uttarakhand i.e. Rajaji, Motichur and Chila.
- It was named after the famous freedom fighter C. Rajgopalachari; popularly known as “Rajaji”.
- It was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2015 as the 48th tiger reserve of the country.
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