Though the Forest Department has woken up to the need to tackle the poaching problem in Melghat Tiger Reserve following the report published in The Indian Express on February 26, grey areas still remain to be addressed. Denial of secret service funds (SSF) for intelligence gathering, lack of young Range Forest Officers (RFOs) to man the difficult Melghat terrain and inadequate facilities at protection huts are some factors that have got little attention from the government. The report had revealed how organised poaching gangs have been active in Melghat for many decades, putting a question mark over the Forest Department's claim of 65-70 tigers in the 1,150 sq km park.• No Secret Service Funds: Provision of SSF is an established practice in many states, including neighbouring Madhya Pradesh. An official said on condition of anonymity that the government has refused to take the demand for SSF seriously. “The fear is that the money, which is not audited, might be misused,” he said. However, the government has sanctioned Rs 18 crore for eco-tourism. “See how anachronistic government priorities can be. What would you do first? How can you showcase the tiger without trying to save it?” he asked.• Ageing RFOs: “The average age of RFOs in Melghat is 45. In difficult terrain like this, we need young, energetic RFOs,” an official said.There has been no direct recruitment of RFOs since 1990. Last year, though state forest minister Babanrao Pachpute directly recruited RFOs, he didn't look into vacancies in sensitive ranges. Dhakna range in Melghat had to function without an RFO for two years before an appointment was made recently. Moreover, ageing RFOs are made to work in the difficult terrain for up to seven years. • Inadequate facilities in protection huts: “Officers stationed in the huts are forced to travel to nearby villages to fetch their rations. Half their day goes in that. When will they do their work? And they are paid abysmally. Why can’t they be given free rations on the spot, like army jawans are,” asked an official. “We also need to equip the huts with firearms, GPS instruments and binoculars,” he added.• Lack of vehicles: “Ranges like Dhakna, Hathru, Jarida and Raipur must get their own vehicles for patrolling,” the official said.Principal Secretary (Forest) Neela Satyanarayan said: "I am trying to chalk out policies. If there are any problems, they have to be brought to my notice or tackled at the level of the PCCF. As for the SSF, the file is stuck at the Finance Department which is just not agreeing. We have to discuss the matter with the Finance Minister."Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) B Majumdar admitted that the department has failed to check poachers forming a nexus with local Korku tribals. “We thought Melghat was safe in the hands of the Korkus. But the arrest of some Korkus recently has made us of the aware of the need to be more vigilant. People coming to Melghat will now be screened. An album of suspected poachers’ photos will be given to forest guards. We will also organise anti-poaching training for our staff with the MP staff,” he said.
