A Supreme Court appointed committee has recommended the creation of a tiger reserve in Goa, rejecting Goa government's objection. The panel proposes that 468.6 sq km area, which contains 102 households, be notified as core and buffer areas of the reserve in the first phase, another 208 sq km with 612 households, may be considered later. Account to the 2022 tiger estimation report by the NTCA, tiger populations in Goa were consistently low since 2014, 5 in 2014, 3 in 2018, but Mhadei wild life sanctuary held significant potential for the range expansion of tigers in Goa as well as in the northern Western Ghats. The Mhadei wildlife sanctuary is a 208.5 sq km area protected in Goa in the Western Ghats. The sanctuary is an area of high biodiversity, and is being considered a project tiger reserve because of the presence of tigers. Due to deforestation involving conversion of forest land and loss to biodiversity, many wild animals are seen near human habitation. So tiger reserve is needed in Goa to prevent further destruction of forests.
