A Supreme Court-appointed committee has recommended the creation of a tiger reserve in Goa, but in a phased manner, so as to first incorporate areas with a lower human presence.
The top court is expected to consider the report of its Central Empowered Committee (CEC) in the next hearing of the case that involves the Goa government and the Goa Foundation, a non-government organisation.
The CEC came into the picture after the Goa government challenged a Bombay High Court order of July 2023, which directed the State to notify five protected areas — the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhagwan Mahavir National Park, Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary, and Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary, collectively referred to as the “Mhadei WLS and Other Areas” — as a tiger reserve, within a period of three months.
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Triggered by tiger deaths
The High Court had also directed the State Government to prepare a Tiger Conservation Plan and to determine and settle the rights and claims of Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers.
This followed a petition by the Goa Foundation after the deaths of one female tiger and three cubs in the Mhadei Sanctuary in January 2020 due to alleged poisoning, and a 2016 recommendation by the National Tiger Conservation Authority recommending that these areas be declared a tiger reserve.
The Goa government was reluctant to have the areas be declared as a tiger reserve on the grounds that nearly “one lakh people” would be affected, though it later conceded in its own affidavit that there are are only about 1,274 households in the 33 villages within the five protected areas, translating to approximately 5,000 to 6,000 individuals. It also claimed that there are no “resident” tigers in Goa, arguing that the handful that pass through Goan forests are a “transient” population. The Hindu reported earlier this week that the Goa government has adopted contradictory positions regarding the “resident” status of tigers in the State.
In its report, the CEC, which conducted site visits in the sanctuaries and interviewed government officials, forest dwellers, and NGO staff, said that there was “apprehension” among several forest dwellers that they would be displaced. It was incumbent upon the State government to allay their fears, the CEC said.
Core and buffer zones
The committee recommended that Goan parks and sanctuaries “directly contiguous” to the Kali Tiger Reserve in adjoining Karnataka, which is known to host a permanent tiger presence, form the “core” part of the Goa reserve. Those areas adjoining the buffer zone of the Kali Tiger Reserve can be considered for designation as the “buffer zone” of the proposed Goa reserve, it added.
“Such a phased approach is likely to minimise disturbance to local communities, while ensuring that the most ecologically sensitive and least inhabited areas are brought under enhanced protection at the earliest stage,” the report said.
This means that the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary (50 households) and Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary (41 households), adding up to a 296.7 sq. km. area, will be incorporated into the core zone of the proposed Goa Tiger Reserve in the first phase. Protected areas contiguous with the Kali Tiger Reserve’s buffer zone, which have minimal human habitation, namely, the northern part of the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary (9 households) and Bhagwan Mahavir National Park (2 households), adding another 171 sq. km., will be considered as the buffer of the proposed Goa Tiger Reserve in the first phase.
“The total area proposed for notification as the Goa Tiger Reserve is 468.60 sq. km. This area is fully contiguous with the 1,345 sq. km core and buffer of the Kali Tiger Reserve, and together they form an integrated protected landscape of approximately 1,814 sq. km. This contiguity is expected to significantly strengthen landscape-level connectivity and ecological functionality,” the report noted.
The Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, spanning 208 sq. km. and containing 612 households, shares only a “limited stretch of boundary” with the buffer of the Kali Tiger Reserve. “These areas may, therefore, be considered, if necessary, at a later stage, after adequate consultation,” the report said.
While protected areas and wildlife sanctuaries already invite the highest degree of state protection, declaring a region as a ‘tiger reserve’ translates to more funds for conservation and research. However it also means designating certain parts of the forest as ‘core’ and ‘buffer’ zones. Core zones are supposed to be “inviolate” and if people happen to be resident there, they are incentivised — but cannot be forced — to leave the area and settle elsewhere. Any movement of people who have land rights can be effected only if their rights are recognised and they are adequately compensated. Buffer zones, on the other hand, are not required to be inviolate and are tolerant of a broader range of human activity.
“The purpose of declaring tiger reserves is to provide connected forest corridors that allow the free movement of tigers, thereby aiding their conservation,” said Qamar Qureshi, formerly of the Wildlife Institute of India.
Published – November 26, 2025 10:11 pm IST
