Odisha government has constituted a high-level inquiry committee to examine the relocation of villages from the Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR), following allegations by residents that they were forcibly evicted from their ancestral villages despite having coexisted harmoniously with wildlife for decades.
The government has particularly asked the committee to identify the officers responsible for any procedural irregularities or violations and recommend appropriate departmental and criminal action. One tiger was killed in a poacher’s trap, while the other strayed into human settlements, triggering resistance from villagers. The tigress was eventually sent back to Madhya Pradesh. The relocation of villagers carried out subsequently was riddled with controversies with villagers alleging that their consent was manufactured and huge money changed hands. As many as villagers had moved State Human Rights Commission. Many eligible adult residents were absent. Behera.
In a bid to revive the population, India’s first inter-state tiger relocation programme was launched in 2018 by bringing a male tiger from Kanha Tiger Reserve and a tigress from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, both in Madhya Pradesh. One of the 15 preconditions set by National Tiger Conservation Authority was to make forest areas within the reserve inviolate.
Presence of large number of human habitations (four villages in core), 131 villages in the buffer and 234 villages in surrounding impact zone of tiger reserve was said to be prime reason behind reported “ineffectiveness” of tiger conservation. Prasanna Behera, an environmental lawyer who fought case on behalf many villagers, said, “one of the observations of OHRC was that Gram Sabha meetings were either not held at all or conducted without proper notice, without ensuring the required quorum and in hurried manner. Moreover, enumeration of beneficiaries were carried out in a non-transparent manner, said Mr.
