More tigers are being introduced in Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan’s Alwar district this monsoon under the recovery plan of the tiger habitat which lost all its big cats to alleged poaching some time in 2004-5. Most of the six tigers reintroduced in the past four years, starting with the first male tiger in June-July 2008, were released during this season.

And if Sariska needs more tigers, where would the Rajasthan authorities look for other than the Ranthambhore National Park, which at present has an actively breeding cat population? All the tigers in Sariska are from Ranthambhore though there is a proposal to get one or two from the forests of neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.

A journalist and his cameraman, who were working on a story on illegal mining in the region, were allegedly assaulted by the goons of the local mining mafia at a village here.

The duo, working with a local news channel, had gone to Nibhore village here on Friday night to cover the story when the incident took place, Superintendent of Police Umesh Chand Dutta said, adding the accused, Rajpal and Girdhari, were arrested on Saturday.

Jaipur: The recently notified buffer zone for the Sariska tiger reserve seems to have got a better deal. About 250 sq km was added to the CTH of the reserve.
According to sources, “The buffer zone here is a continuous chain of land unlike the fragmented buffer of Ranthambore. However, the buffer area in the north western and southern part of the CTH here is much more than the other parts.”

For creating the buffer zone in Sariska, parts of forest land from the Alwar and Jaipur forest division were included. While areas such as Sirawas, Digani and Bhasra were included from the Alwar forest division, the Digota block of the Jamua Ramgarh sanctuary was included from the Jaipur forest division.

JAIPUR: After mining denuding the topography ruthlessly, there is hope for the Aravalis and Vindhya ranges in the state as Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) undertakes restoration of ecological status through reforestation. The project would also increase green cover, improve water table and augment the economy of the villagers besides reducing dependence on the forests.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Wednesday sanctioned Rs 284.33 crore for the first phase of the greening project. The total outlay is more than Rs 900 crore which will be distributed in three phases to the forest department.

The overall green cover in the National Capital Region has witnessed an increase, according to data compiled by the NCR Planning Board.

ALWAR: A team of police and forest officials had to run for their life when some people employed by the mining mafia in Alwar's Kherali police station area pelted stones on them on Wednesday night. The officials had to hide themselves in agricultural farms to save their lives.Itis the second such attack in two days.

According to the police, forest conservator Girraj Prasad lodged an FIR with Kherali police station against 25 people over the incident. The police had arrested four of the attackers.

ALWAR: Just a few days after the Supreme Court issued notices to the state government over illegal mining in Alwar, a man was killed and another injured at an illegal mine Narayanpur area in the district on Tuesday.

Initially the police were saying that the victims were involved in illegal mining but later they changed the stand saying that the man was killed in a freak accident when the brakes of his truck broke down.

JAIPUR: The National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) has agreed to fund the drinking water supply projects in the Alwar district of Rajasthan worth Rs. 1,132 crore. The state government on Wednesday also gave its consent for these projects. The three schemes sanctioned by the state government are water supply to Alwar city from Chambal river, upgradation of distribution system, 24/7 water supply in urban areas of Tijara, Behror, Rajgarh and augmentation of urban water supply scheme at Bhiwadi.

The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Centre and the Rajasthan and Haryana governments on allegations that large scale illegal mining and depletion of forest cover was taking place i

Jaipur: The draft report of Rajasthan State Action Plan on Climate Change has brought out some alarming facts about the water situation in the state. According to the report, the state has the highest probability of drought occurrence in the country. It also falls within areas having greatest climate sensitivity, maximum vulnerability and lowest adaptive capacity.

According to the report, “high dependency on groundwater has resulted in its overexploitation, with nearly 80% of groundwater witnessing depletion. The quality of groundwater has also progressively deteriorated. The stage of groundwater exploitation which was 35% in 1984 has reached a level of 138% in 2008