Tiger Reserve To Include 2 Sanctuaries If all goes well, Tamil Nadu will soon get its fifth tiger reserve that will include the Megamalai wildlife and Srivilliputhur Grizzled Giant Squirrel sanctuaries and Varushanadu Valley in Theni district. While the proposal was made by the previous UPA regime, the NDA government has reiterated its commitment to declare the tiger reserve. Minister of state (independent charge) for environment, forests and climate change, Prakash Javadekar, in a written reply to Parliament last week, said the state has been advised to send a proposal for declaring the region as a tiger reserve. “Financial and technical help is provided to the state government under various centrally sponsored schemes, such as Project Tiger and Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats for enhancing the capacity and infrastructure for providing effective protection to wild animals,” the minister said. Following an in-principle approval by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the state created the fourth tiger reserve in Sathyamangalam in Erode district in October last year. The forest department is said to have recorded 18 big cats then. Thanks to Project Tiger, the tiger conservation measures helped the state boast of 163 big cats in 2011. A survey by the forest department in Srivilliputhur and Megamalai last year put the tiger population at 10 in the region. Well-known ecologist and National Tiger Conservation Authority member Dr A J T John Singh said a management plan was available for the fifth tiger reserve. “The state government is keen on the project and the administration is pushing for it. With the Centre’s funding, we can implement protection measures, including engaging addi tional staff and buying equipment,” he said. T S Subramaniam of Wildlife Association of Rajapalayam, an NGO, said unchecked encroachments in the form of settlements in Megamalai and Varushanadu had led to poaching and tree-cutting. “If the area is declared a tiger reserve, encroachments should be removed first,” he said. The Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary in Srivilliputhur is located next to Periyar Tiger Reserve in the southwest and Megamalai Reserve Forest in the northwest. Falling in the range of Cumbum West and Uthamapalayam, the sanctuary nestles in the high ranges of Western Ghats. “Tiger conservationists are concerned about the high number of deaths in recent months. TN tops the list with seven deaths this year, and five deaths are still under investigation. Ajay A Desai, a consultant with the WWF India, said man-made disturbances like roads, railway lines, mining and hydel power stations should be kept off the forests.