17 May 2012 The Supreme Court has directed all states to demarcate and notify buffer zones around each of their tiger reserves within three months. While conservationists say the order would curb commercialisation of revenue land around tiger habitats, tribal rights activists think its implementation will result in repression of forest dwellers by forest departments. Click on date for more details

15 May 2012 A forest ranger and a forester were recently beaten up by the illegal mining mafia in the core area of the Rathambhore reserve. For more information click on date

08 May 2012 Aptly titled, 'Corbett, now on sale', a story in a weekly magazine brought an open secret out in print: The land around - and even inside - the Corbett Tiger Reserve is up for grabs, controlled by the country's Who's Who. It highlighted how tourism resorts have destroyed the Kosi river corridor, cutting off access for animals to a crucial water source. This matter had in fact first come to light in a report, 'Impact of tourism on tigers and other wildlife of Corbett', published in January 2010. Click on date for more details

Villagers' rights to be curbed near Mukundra sanctuary

From Times of India

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-04/jaipur/29849706_1_ranthambore-national-park-sanctuary-sq-km

Following the preliminary notification declaring the Mukundra sanctuary in Kota as a national park, the process of taking away certain rights enjoyed by the villagers on its periphery has begun. This rights acquisition work is aimed at keeping the area sacrosanct after the final notification declaring the area a national park is issued.

Earlier, the government had decided to form two more national parks in the state --the Mukundra national park and the Aravalli national park.

According to UM Sahai, chief wildlife warden, after the final notification, a lots of rights that villagers have been enjoying in the area will be taken away. "For example, we had allowed grazing of cattle in the region but this has to be stopped the moment the area is declared a national park," he said.

On the other hand, the proposed Aravalli national park in Rajsamand district will include parts of Kumbhalgarh sanctuary, the Tatagarh and Aravalli sanctuary covering an area of 508.6 sq km. The park will include 401.51 sq km of the Kumbhalgarh sanctuary and 107.09 sq km of the Tatagarh sanctuary. But even a preliminary notification for the same is yet to be done by the government.

The initiative is aimed at conserving the flora and fauna of the region. "Mukundra has a lot of deer, sambhars and panthers . It is also frequented by tigers from the Ranthambore reserve. On the other hand, the proposed Aravalli park has panthers, bears, sambhars, cheetals and even the rare fourhorned antelope," he added.

The state has already announced developing the area connecting Ranthambore National Park to Mukundra sanctuary as a corridor. The area is frequented by straying tigers of Ranthambore and developing it would give the big cats a safe passage. The project has already got an in-principle nod from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

"The tigers from Ranthambore National Park that often stray outside will then have a safe passage to Mukundra and would be able to occupy the region," officials said.

After the final notification of the two parks, the state government would be preparing management plans for developing them.