By IANS,
Mumbai : An office of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) would come up in Nagpur, considered as the “tiger gateway of the country”, union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh announced Friday.
The NTCA would be linked to 13 of the 39 tiger sanctuaries spread across the country, he said.
Ramesh said the central government has also approved a proposal to grant Rs.50 crore for village rehabilitation around various tiger sanctuaries in eastern Maharashtra, including Melghat Tiger Reserve and Tadoba Tiger Sanctuary.
Ramesh, along with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan will visit Gadchiroli district next week to launch an initiative to treat bamboo as a minor forest produce, thus allowing forest dwellers to collect and sell it.
Ramesh said that the Forest Rights Act, 2006, has classified bamboo as a minor forest produce with the local village council being the nodal point for forest management.
He said that besides changing the relationship between the forest department and the tribal community by making them equal partners in sustainable forest management, the initiative would also help fight the Maoist problems in the country.