- The Madhya Pradesh (MP) Wildlife Board approved a new reserve for the tigers of Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) named ‘Durgavati Tiger Reserve’, which spans 2,339 square kilometres (sq. km) across the districts of Narisinghpur, Damoh, and Sagar in MP.
- The proposal to notify 1,414 sq. km as the core area and 925 sq. km as a buffer in the new tiger reserve was approved at the Board meeting, which was presided over by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of MP.
- It should be emphasised that the Ken-Betwa River Interlinking (KBRIL) Project will result in the submergence of one-fourth of PTR.
- As part of a wildlife management plan for Panna in wake of the Ken-Betwa river linking project, the NTCA had asked Uttar Pradesh and MP governments to notify new tiger reserves.
- The two state governments, with the Centre, are implementing a ₹44,605 crore river-linking project to end the water crisis in Bundelkhand region.
- The Uttar Pradesh cabinet approved the notification of the state’s fourth tiger reserve in the Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary (RWS) in the Chitrakoot district. RWS has no tigers of its own.
- Panna is home to the largest number of vultures in Central India and loss of habitat will badly impact them.
- In 2020, UNESCO included PTR in a global network of biospheres because of its unique landscape and management.
New tiger reserve approved by Wildlife board in Madhya Pradesh
