Source: PIB
The Centre has mapped tiger corridors inside and outside protected areas across the country and developed a conservation plan for big cats, which includes a strategy to streamline infrastructure projects with mandatory inclusion of safe passages.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India has published a document titled “Connecting Tiger Populations for Long-term Conservation”, which has mapped out 32 major corridors across the country, management interventions for which are operationalized through a Tiger Conservation Plan, mandated under section 38V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
What is a Tiger corridor?
A tiger corridor is a stretch of land linking tiger habitats, allowing movement of tigers, prey and other wildlife.
The list of macro/landscape level tiger corridors are as under:
| Sl. No. | Landscape | Corridor | States/ Country |
| 1. | Shivalik Hills & Gangetic Plains | (i)Rajaji-Corbett | Uttarakhand |
| (ii) Corbett-Dudhwa | Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Nepal | ||
| (iii) Dudhwa-Kishanpur-Katerniaghat | Uttar Pradesh, Nepal | ||
| 2. | Central India & Eastern Ghats | (i) Ranthambhore-Kuno-Madhav | Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan |
| (ii) Bandhavgarh-Achanakmar | Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh | ||
| (iii) Bandhavgarh-Sanjay Dubri-Guru Ghasidas | Madhya Pradesh | ||
| (iv) Guru Ghasidas-Palamau-Lawalong | Chhattisgarh & Jharkhand | ||
| (v) Kanha-Achanakmar | Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh | ||
| (vi) Kanha-Pench | Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra | ||
| (vii) Pench-Satpura-Melghat | Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra | ||
| (viii) Kanha-Navegaon Nagzira-Tadoba-Indravati | Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh | ||
| (ix) Indravati-Udanti Sitanadi-Sunabeda | Chhattisgarh, Odisha | ||
| (x) Similipal-Satkosia | Odisha | ||
| (xi) Nagarjunasagar-Sri Venkateshwara National Park | Andhra Pradesh | ||
| 3. | Western Ghats | (i) Sahyadri-Radhanagari-Goa | Maharashtra, Goa |
| (ii) Dandeli Anshi-Shravathi Valley | Karnataka | ||
| (iii) Kudremukh-Bhadra | Karnataka | ||
| (iv) Nagarahole-Pusphagiri-Talakavery | Karnataka | ||
| (v) Nagarahole-Bandipur-Mudumalai-Wayanad | Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu | ||
| (vi) Nagarahole-Mudumalai-Wayanad | Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu | ||
| (vii) Parambikulam-Eranikulam-Indira Gandhi | Kerala, Tamil Nadu | ||
| (viii) Kalakad Mundanthurai-Periyar | Kerala, Tamil Nadu | ||
| 4. | North East | (i) Kaziranga-Itanagar WLS | Assam, Arunachal Pradesh |
| (ii) Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong | Assam | ||
| (iii) Kaziranga-Nameri | Assam | ||
| (iv) Kaziranga-Orang | Assam | ||
| (v) Kaziranga-Papum Pane | Assam | ||
| (vi) Manas-Buxa | Assam, West Bengal, Bhutan | ||
| (vii) Pakke-Nameri-Sonai Rupai-Manas | Arunachal Pradesh, Assam | ||
| (viii) Dibru Saikhowa-D’Ering-Mehaong | Assam, Arunachal Pradesh | ||
| (ix) Kamlang-Kane-Tale Valley | Arunachal Pradesh | ||
| (x) Buxa-Jaldapara | West Bengal |
3 pronged strategy to manage human-tiger negative interactions has been advocated as follows:
- Material and logistical support: Funding support through the ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger, is provided to tiger reserves for acquiring capacity in terms of infrastructure and material, to deal with tigers dispersing out of source areas. These are solicited by tiger reserves through an Annual Plan of Operation (APO) every year which stems out from an overarching Tiger Conservation Plan (TCP), mandated under Section 38 V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- Restricting habitat interventions: Based on the carrying capacity of tigers in a tiger reserve, habitat interventions are restricted through an overarching TCP.
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs): The National Tiger Conservation Authority has issued following three SOPs to deal with man-animal conflict which are available in public domain:
- To deal with emergency arising due to straying of tigers in human-dominated landscapes
- To deal with tiger depredation on livestock
- For active management towards the rehabilitation of tigers from source areas at the landscape level.
In technical collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India, the National Tiger Conservation Authority has also published a document titled ‘Eco-Friendly measures to mitigate impacts of Linear infrastructure on wildlife’ to safeguard these corridors from linear infrastructure development besides sensitizing user agencies which inter alia include Indian Railway Traffic Service Probationers, National Highways Authority of India personnel, Indian Railway Engineers, besides others.
