The management of Pench Tiger Reserve, Nagpur, has taken up the work of complete boundary demarcation of the whole tiger reserve covering 76 villages situated on the fringe areas. The demarcation work has been started in order to avoid encroachments, future litigation, and conflict.
Moreover, the exercise will remove confusion among the field staff employees like Range Forest Officers, Round Officers and Forest Guards about exact boundary limit of the park. They can now immediately take action against anybody encroaching upon the forest land because of the clear demarcation. The tiger reserve is spread on an area of 741.42 sq km with a total boundary of 289.59 km.
The management has started surveying the areas and erecting temporary pillars at the boundary with taking note by GPS reading in presence of private persons having lands nearby. It is also taking cooperation from the field staff from Territorial Division of Forest Department in the work of boundary clearing.
The park officials will initiate suitable action against of persons removing these temporary pillars. They will put up permanent pillars in the near future.
This was disclosed by Dr Prabhu Nath Shukla, Deputy Director, Pench Tiger Reserve, Nagpur, while talking exclusively to The Live Nagpur here on Monday. The exercise will now help staff members find out if any new encroachments are done on the forest last. He admitted that some encroachments have been made at the boundaries while the work of removing them is also being done, he added.
The management has formed teams of Round Officers, Forest Guards from the boundary villages and private surveyors. The work of providing training to such forest staff is being done by the surveyors of Working Plan of the department and Pench Tiger Reserve. Moreover, the work of capacity building of the staff members is also being made for the purpose. A two-day workshop of the field staff members has been organised at Sillari in Pench from today in which the department’s surveyors are providing guidance to the participants, Dr Shukla pointed out.
