New Delhi: The National Board for Wildlife this week approved the West Bengal government’s proposal to expand the area of the Sundarban Tiger Reserve, senior officials familiar with the matter told ThePrint. With the proposed expansion, the Sundarban Tiger Reserve would become the second largest in the country, after Andhra Pradesh’s Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Reserve.
“There are many aspects to this decision, it is a multi-stage process. It is of course a critical step that NBWL has given it approval,” said Debal Ray, principal secretary of the West Bengal forest department. “However, there are other things we need to operationalise before the expansion happens.”
Currently, the Sundarban Tiger Reserve has a total core area of 1699.92 sq km, with additional buffer regions of 885.27 sq km. The West Bengal forest department’s proposal is to add three ranges i.e. Matla, Raidighi and Ramganga to the main tiger reserve, which will increase the area of the reserve by 1044.68 sq km. In comparison, the Nagarjunasagar reserve has a total area of 5937 sq km, including buffer areas.
According to a senior forest official, these are three tiger-bearing ranges that are inside the South 24 Parganas district, and bringing them inside the tiger reserve would lead to better management of the reserve and the wildlife.
In 2022, there were 81 tigers sighted inside the Sundarbans Reserve and 20 outside in the South 24 Parganas district. Out of these, there was one tiger which was common between both divisions, indicating that the animals roam outside the reserve too at times.
The proposal to expand the area of the tiger reserve was initially thought of in 2002, according to a report by Down to Earth. However, the actual proposal was sent by the West Bengal government to the Centre in 2022, and has been under consideration by various departments. It received technical approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority—which is headed by the Union environment minister—in 2024. Now it has received approval from the National Board of Wildlife too, which is headed by the Prime Minister.
Sundarban is one of the oldest tiger reserves in the country, having been established in 1973 at the same time as Project Tiger. It also has a national park within it which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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