THE GOAN NETWORK | PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and his Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane sounded triumphant when they simultaneously announced a fortnight ago that the long-pending proposal for a 'tiger reserve' carved out of mainly the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and contiguous parts of Bhagwan Mahavir, Netravali and Cotigao sanctuaries, had been rejected by the State Wildlife Board.
But a few days later, this 'no tiger reserve' decision of the SWLB got crushed under the verdict of Justices Mahesh Sonak and Bharat Deshpande of the High Court which directed the Sawant government to notify the tiger reserve within three months.
While the community of greens who had for decades been campaigning for the cause of tiger conservation in Goa were gung-ho, it left the government scurrying for cover and at a loss for words.
Rane, known to be a vociferous opponent of the idea of a 'tiger reserve' in the Mhadei sanctuary, however, stuck to his guns and announced that the government will "do what it takes" to vacate the High Court order at any cost.
Government sources meanwhile say that its hopes, however faint, are pinned on the Supreme Court, at least to initially get the three-month deadline fixed by the High Court to notify the tiger reserve extended.
"Once the tiger reserve is notified, it is next to impossible to change anything. So our first target will be to pursue an interim stay when we file the challenge against the High Court order before the Supreme Court," a top Forest Department official dealing with the matter said.
For the record, the government's argument against notifying the tiger reserve is that "thousands of people" living in these areas will be affected and a plan will have to first be drawn up to rehabilitate them.
Ranes staunch opponents
of tiger reserve for long
The State government, especially the Rane's, who are politically influential in Sattari where large parts will be engulfed in the tiger reserve, have historically been opposed to the proposal.
Between father and son -- Pratapsingh Rane and Vishwajit Rane -- the duo have held charge of the forest portfolio for a long time and are officially in denial of the very presence of the striped cat in the wild in Goa.
Much of their opposition stems from the restrictions a tiger reserve will impose on the resident population besides the impediments it will pose to the economic development of the region.
Both have been claiming that the tigers sighted in Goa are only migratory and that the State has no resident ones.
In fact, Pratapsingh Rane, who has been the longest-serving chief minister of Goa, was even opposed to the 1999 notification of the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary. Also, Vishwajit, who is the current forest minister, is pursuing in his private capacity, a writ petition he had filed back in 2011 challenging the notification which declared Mhadei a wildlife sanctuary during the brief stint of former Governor Lt Gen J F R Jacob in 1999. The petition is still pending before the Bombay High Court at Goa.
His stand opposing the tiger reserve judgment does not come as a surprise.
"The implications (of tiger reserve) are horrible for the livelihoods of people there. It will affect economic activity in the area," Vishwajit said soon after the judgement and insisted that the government will challenge it.
Opposition parties
welcome decision
Meanwhile, the Opposition parties have welcomed the decision of the High Court and taken the stance that it is in the best interest of the State, especially in the battle against Karnataka in the Mhadei river dispute.
Leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao called the judgement a "major relief" to the State and appealed to the people living in close proximity to the proposed tiger reserve to accept the decision.
The Congress, to which Alemao belongs, has also welcomed the High Court decision and slammed the government for announcing that it will challenge the verdict before the Supreme Court.
Congress State president Amit Patkar also accused the government of working for the interests of Karnataka in the Mhadei river dispute with the decision to challenge the High Court verdict.
Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas said the judgement was in the interest of Goa and its people as the presence of tigers is an indicator that the ecology is in good health.
"It is also a big boost for Goa in the Mhadei river dispute. It completely tilts the scales in our favour vis-a-vis Karnataka's plans to divert the river's waters out of the basin at Kalasa and Bhandura," said Viegas, who has unsuccessfully pushed with the government for the tiger reserve to strengthen Goa's case.
Central agencies unlikely
to back State in SC
It is now clear that the State government will approach the Supreme Court against the High Court judgement, but achieving success in the Apex Court will be a daunting task with the Centre unlikely to dilute its stand in favour of the tiger reserve.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), whose report of 2020 says the region had a large tiger population of five and not upgrading it to a tiger reserve will make Goa a death trap for tigers, was relied on by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to back its recommendation for a tiger reserve before the High Court.
It is very unlikely that NTCA and the MoEF&CC will change or dilute this pro-tiger reserve stance before the Supreme Court, if and when the challenge is filed by the Sawant government.
Visibly, in its cause against tiger conservation, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's government finds itself isolated and devoid of the advantage of its double-engine Sarkar's other engine, for now.
