AHMEDABAD: Gujarat, since financial year, 2012-13 has received Rs 20.86 crore in grants under the centrally sponsored `Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats’ (IDWH) scheme.This is the second highest amount given under IDWH, Project Tiger or Project Elephant.
Kerala received the biggest grant of Rs 35 crore.This information was revealed by the minister of environment, forests and climate change in the Lok Sabha in reply to a question by Tamil Nadu Member of Parliament S Rajendran. The government said that the centre gave grants amounting to Rs 267 to various sta tes.
To the same question, the government replies that there have been no poaching incidents reported from the Gir sanctuary, while there have been 50 cases of tiger poaching since 2013 and 40 incidents of elephant poaching since the same year. The minister’s reply sa id: “According to information available with the ministry, there is no case of death of lions due to poaching in Gujarat.”
According to the reply, in 2012-13, the state received grants of Rs 12 crore under IDWH project, Rs 5.06 crore in 2013-14 and Rs 8.18 crore in 2014-15. The reply added that in 2015-16, the state has received Rs 9.67 crore as grants till March 9, 2016.
Officials in Gujarat pointed out that of the 50 tiger poaching cases, eight were in Maharashtra and seven in Madhya Pradesh. Gujarat has opposed lion translocation to Kuno-Palpur in Madhya Pradesh on basis that poaching is rampant in the central state.