PIL wants declaration of tiger reserve in Goa

The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday issued notices to the state government and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) over a petition seeking `declaration' of a tiger reserve in Goa. Claud Alvares, who has filed the Public Interest Litigation on behalf of NGO Goa Foundation, said an urgent relief was sought in the wake of the killing of four tigers in Mahadayi Wildlife Sanctuary in January 2020. The court asked the government and NTCA to file their affidavits-in-reply before August 24, the next date of hearing.

The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday issued notices to the state government and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) over a petition seeking `declaration' of a tiger reserve in Goa. Claud Alvares, who has filed the Public Interest Litigation on behalf of NGO Goa Foundation, said an urgent relief was sought in the wake of the killing of four tigers in Mahadayi Wildlife Sanctuary in January 2020.

The court asked the government and NTCA to file their affidavits-in-reply before August 24, the next date of hearing. "The purposeful killing of four tigers revealed the urgent need for better management of the protected areas in the state and of tiger-human conflict," Alvares said.

The protected forests in Goa form an integral habitat for tigers in the state and the rest of the contiguous stretches of the Western Ghats, he said. A two-member team set up by the NTCA to inquire into tiger deaths also unequivocally recommended declaration of a tiger reserve in the state, warning that Goa could become a death trap for tigers otherwise, Alvares said.