MP Reluctant to Ink Tripartite Pact to Conserve Tigers
In spite of being under attack following many deaths of the big cats in Panna and Kanha reserves, Madhya Pradesh has expressed its reservation over inking a tripartite pact with the centre for tiger conservation.
The reason: state officials are in main concerned about a clause in the pact that make directors of tiger reserves accountable for any lapses in the park.
At a national conference on forests ministers in New Delhi, Prashant Mehta, Additional Chief Secretary (Forests) of Madhya Pradesh, asked Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh: “When already a bilateral agreement with the Centre and the State exists why to drag the director in the matter regarding tiger conservation. The funds are being doled out to the states and not to the director. And what if the director is shifted in between his term period?”
It should be noted that the pact, a move to conserve tigers, makes three parties accountable for their action in protection of the big cats – Environment Ministry on behalf of the Centre, state government and the tiger reserve.
The topic came up when Ramesh, during the deliberation, called upon states to accelerate inking of tripartite agreement which aims to make the stakeholders including director of the reserve responsible for protection of the big cat.
However, Ramesh declined to buy the theory of the state government and asked the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) member secretary Rajesh Gopal to hold a meeting with the state officials to encourage them to sign the pact.
