Additional principal chief conservator of forests, Shashi Kumar, said the conservator of forests (wildlife) is "handling the matter".
While Kumar, in the past, has asserted that Goa does not have resident tigers and the mere presence of a tiger does not make the case strong to declare the area as a tiger conservation zone, on Saturday he told STOI, "They (wildlife section) will consult the stakeholders (local residents) and take a call whether there is need to add more area or continue with the same area (for the tiger reserve). I have told them to start conducting meetings to assess the people's response."
The process, he said, will take "at least two months to complete". "Once the report is submitted to me, it would be forwarded to the government," said Kumar.
Activists fighting the cause of the big cat in Goa since almost two decades now are not surprised with the response. They point out that the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary itself is hanging fire since it was notified in 1999. Read the full report here.
Source: Paul Fernandes & Murari Shetye, TNN, Panaji.
