Exclusive: At Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, project to conserve elephants saw several budget cuts last year

Records show that Rs 11.44 crore was earmarked for the reserve in 2023, and Rs 11.01 crore was utilised. In 2024, the budget was reduced to Rs 11.25 crore. BTR deputy director Prakash Verma told The Indian Express that the problem was “still the lack of funds”. After the death of elephants in November, he said, the government promised more funding.

However, records suggest that before the funds were cut in 2024, the previous year saw an underutilisation in both the core and buffer areas of the reserve.

The records indicate:

• The reserve currently houses 13 adult elephants and one sub-adult, who are used by the reserve staff for various operations, and ensuring their food and medical needs is a critical part of the budget. In 2023, Rs 20 lakh was allocated, while Rs 16.23 lakh was spent on their diet. In 2024, the allocation dropped to Rs 18 lakh.
• The budget for the maintenance of elephant camps – the facilities where mahouts or elephant caretakers live and care for the animals – was Rs 10 lakh in 2023, out of which Rs 5.94 lakh was utilised. The 2024 budget was reduced to Rs 8 lakh.
• In the buffer zone, vehicle-related expenses saw no spending in 2023. Rs 5 lakh had been allocated for POL (petroleum, oil, and lubricants) for vehicles and Rs 2 lakh for vehicle maintenance, which was not utilised. Both categories were again allocated the same amount in 2024.
• In 2023, Rs 30.59 lakh was allocated for project allowances for officers, but Rs 10.41 lakh was used. The budget for 2024 has been set at Rs 20.33 lakh. Labour wages for 947 workers remain unchanged at ₹82 lakh, with nearly full utilisation (Rs 81.63 lakh) in 2023.
• To procure batteries for camera traps, essential for tracking wildlife movement and detecting poaching threats, the allocation fell sharply from Rs 4 lakh in 2023 to Rs 1 lakh in 2024, though Rs 3.89 lakh was utilised.
• Funds for fire line cleaning and burning, meant to prevent wildfires, dropped from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. The budget to pay wages for fire protection workers in the buffer zone was reduced from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, though Rs 14.30 lakh was utilised in 2023.
• The drinking water facility budget saw a reduction from Rs 17 lakh in 2023 to Rs 14 lakh in 2024. Nearly the entire budget (Rs 16.99 lakh) was utilised.
• The budget for cattle immunisation was cut in half from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. The budget for hiring vehicles in the buffer zone was reduced from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.
• Maintenance of wireless systems saw its budget drop from Rs 1.70 lakh in 2023 to Rs 1 lakh in 2024 in the core area. In the buffer zone, it was reduced from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 1 lakh.

In response to questions by The Indian Express on the underutilisation of funds, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) L Krishnamoorthy said, “We are planning to make better utilisation of the funds.”

He acknowledged there had been “some shortages, but we are working on a five-year plan for elephant management”.

“We are also using funds from Project Tiger, funds for outside protected areas and park development funds to manage elephants. Elephant movement in MP is a new phenomenon, and we will increase our budget, which will be reflected in the upcoming APO,” he said.