Durgavati Tiger Reserve

October 22, 2022

Madhya Pradesh Wildlife Board recently approved the establishment of a new tiger reserve called Durgavati Tiger Reserve.

Key facts

The Madhya Pradesh Wildlife Board recently approved the creation of the Durgavati Tiger Reserve.
It will host tigers of Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR), quarter of which is set to be submerged because of the linking of Ken-Betwa rivers.
It will span cross 2,339 square kilometres new tiger reserve, covering Narisinghpur, Damoh and Sagar districts of Madhya Pradesh.
It will have 1,414 sq km of land as core area and 925 sq km area of buffer zone.
The tigers will be shifted to the new reserve by encouraging their natural movement via a green corridor that will link it with Panna Tiger Reserve.
The proposal is in line with the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s order urging Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh governments to notify new tiger reserves to manage wildlife in Panna Tiger Reserve, which will be impacted by the Ken-Betwa river linking project.
Earlier, in September 27, the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approved the notification of fourth tiger reserve in the state in the Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary (RWS), which is frequented by tigers from the Panna Tiger Reserve.

Ken-Betwa link project

The Ken-Betwa link project is set to become one of the first river interlinking projects implemented in India. At the Union Budget 2022-23, Rs 44,605 crore was allocated for this project. It is expected to provide for the irrigation needs to around 9 lakh hectares of farmland and drinking water for over 62 lakh people. It will also generate 103 Mega Watt of hydropower and 27 Mega Watt of solar power. The project will be especially beneficial for the drought prone Bundelkhand region. It is expected to be completed in over 8 years. It may adversely affect various species in the Panna Tiger Reserve, which is home to the largest population of vultures in Central India.

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