Uttarakhand has the third largest tiger population among 17 States with tiger population in India, but compared to other States, it receives lesser funds from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). While forest department official state that the funds depend on the number of tiger reserves in the State, wildlife activists point out that the State has failed to effectively use the funds Uttarakhand has received from NTCA so far. According to official data, the NTCA had released `16,062 lakh to 17 tiger States under the XI plan in 2011-12 while in 2012-13 it has released `9562 lakh till August 29. In 2011-12 Uttarakhand received `399.76 lakh while `446 lakh was released to Uttar Pradesh, `702 lakh to Chhattisgarh, `1,830 lakh to Karnataka, `5,352 to Madhya Pradesh and `3,622 lakh to Maharashtra among others. Similarly in 2012-13, till August 29, `89.43 lakh had been released to Uttarakhand, `234 lakh to Uttar Pradesh, `425 lakh to Chhattisgarh, `698 lakh to Karnataka, `4,951 lakh to Madhya Pradesh and `513 lakh to Maharashtra among others. According to the national tiger census report released by the Wildlife Institute of India in 2011, Karnataka houses nearly 300 big cats in the wild followed by Madhya Pradesh with 257 and Uttarakhand with 227 tigers. In 2008-09 Uttarakhand was among the States which received `93 lakh for creation of Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) but the state has not yet been able to create this much needed force inspite of the fact that Corbett tiger reserve, the only tiger reserve in Uttarakhand is considered to be one of the 13 tiger reserves in India sensitive from the poaching point of view. While forest officials state that necessary steps are being taken to ensure effective use of funds released by NTCA, the wildlife activists point out that the efforts of the State forest department leave a lot to be desired. The State might be receiving comparatively fewer funds, but the effective use of these funds can help achieve the desired level of tiger protection in Uttarakhand, which is presently lacking, aver the activists.