Digital Goa, Nov 24 – Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has recommended the creation of a Tiger Reserve in Goa in two phases, effectively overturning the State government’s blanket refusal to notify one. Under Phase I, the CEC has proposed that Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary (211.05 sq km) and Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary (85.65 sq km) be declared core areas, forming a combined 296.7 sq km tiger habitat that will integrate seamlessly with the core of Karnataka’s Kali Tiger Reserve.It has further recommended that Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary – North (64.9 sq km) and Bhagwan Mahaveer National Park (107 sq km) be designated as buffer zones, adding 171.9 sq km to the larger Kali-Goa conservation landscape. “Significantly, the CEC has remained silent on including Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as either core or buffer. Consequently, Mhadei will continue under the stricter Wildlife Sanctuary regime,” green NGO, the Goa Foundation noted, responding to the report. State government will now be required to prepare a detailed Tiger Conservation Plan. The plan will have to address habitat connectivity with Kali Tiger Reserve, regulate impacts of mining and linear infrastructure, improve prey base, boost anti-poaching measures, and install long-term monitoring systems such as camera traps and genetic surveys. The CEC has also clarified that high-density village zones—including the southern part of Bhagwan Mahaveer WLS (approx. 560 households) and Mhadei WLS (approx. 612 households)—will not be part of the reserve in Phase I. Their inclusion may be considered later, but only after extensive community consultations, awareness programmes, and measures that build confidence and address livelihood and rehabilitation concerns. To address widespread fears of displacement, the committee has directed the State to launch structured, sustained public-awareness campaigns emphasising that tiger reserve notifications do not mandate relocation from buffer areas, nor do they result in automatic acquisition of private land. The CEC’s report will now be placed before the Supreme Court on December 15, 2025, for final orders.
