56th Tiger Reserve: The Chhattisgarh government has officially declared Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve, increasing the total number of tiger reserves in the state to four. On Monday, the state's public relations department shared the notification dated November 4 issued by the Forest and Climate Change Department defining the area of the tiger reserve. The reserve will be named 'Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla' Tiger Reserve.
Bhupender Yadav congratulates Chhattisgarh: Let the roars get louder
Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday took to X to congratulate Chhattisgarh. "Let the roars get louder! As India continues to touch new milestones in tiger conservation, we have notified Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla in Chhattisgarh as the 56th tiger reserve. Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve is spread over 2,829 sq km. India continues to work towards a green future where humans and animals cohabit in harmony. Congratulations, Chhattisgarh!," Yadav said on X.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said the new tiger reserve marked a historic step towards a greener and brighter future for the state and the nation.
"Congratulations Chhattisgarh! The declaration of Guru Ghasidas-Tamorpingla as the 56th tiger reserve of the country is a moment of pride and joy for the entire state. This tiger reserve will be helpful in conserving tigers and wildlife, along with marking a historic step towards a greener and brighter future for the state and the nation," Sai said in his post on X. He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Yadav for the "visionary and impactful initiative".
3rd largest Tiger Reserve in India
As per the notification, Guru Ghasidas- Tamor Pingla tiger reserve will be spread over an area of 2829.387 square km, including 2049.232 sq km core area, in Korea, Surajpur, Balrampur and Manendragarh-Chirmiri- Bharatpur districts.
"This will be the fourth tiger reserve in the state after Indravati (in Bijapur district), Udanti-Sitanadi (Gariaband) and Achanakmar (Mungeli). Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla tiger reserve will be the country's third largest tiger reserve. Nagarjunasagar Srisailam tiger reserve in Andhra Pradesh is the country's largest tiger reserve with an area of 3296.31 sq km followed by Assam's Manas tiger reserve with an area of 2837.1 sq km," a government official said.
In August this year, the Chhattisgarh cabinet had decided to declare Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla wildlife sanctuary as tiger reserve.
Keeping in view the landscape approach to conservation as envisaged in India’s National Wildlife Plan, the newly notified tiger reserve is contiguous with the Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh forming a landscape complex of nearly 4500 sq. km. Further, the tiger reserve is connected to the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh to the West and Palamau Tiger Reserve in Jharkhand to the East. The National Tiger Conservation Authority had accorded final approval for notifying the Guru Ghasidas- Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve in October 2021.
Nestled in the Chota Nagpur plateau and partly in the Baghelkhand plateau, the tiger reserve is blessed with varied terrains, dense forests, streams and rivers favourable for harbouring a rich faunal diversity and contains critical habitats for the tiger.
753 species documented from Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve
A total of 753 species, including 365 invertebrates and 388 vertebrates, have been documented from Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve by the Zoological Survey of India. The invertebrate fauna is represented mostly by the class insecta. The vertebrate fauna includes 230 species of birds and 55 species of mammals comprising several threatened species from both the groups.
With this notification, Chhattisgarh is now home to 4 Tiger Reserves, which is bound to strengthen conservation of the species with ongoing technical and financial assistance from the National Tiger Conservation Authority under Project Tiger.
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