Ranthambore tops all tiger reserves in earnings

JAIPUR: Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR) is now officially the ‘undisputed king’ of all tiger reserves in the country. For the financial year 2016-17, the reserve was the highest revenue grosser at Rs 23.06 crore, according to forest department statistics.

Compared to this, Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra) earned Rs 5 crore while Bandhavgarh (Madhya Pradesh) managed just Rs 3.8 crore.

Credit for this roaring success goes back to April 2016 when, on the lines of tiger reserves in Maharashtra and MP, RTR initiated tatkal, full-day and half-day forest safaris from sunrise to sunset.

After this, it was within a year that the reserve has surpassed the other two in revenue generation. Contrary to the perception that Ranthambore forest was being exploited for tourism, the reserve boasts of a healthy tiger population. The baby boom in the reserve has been the biggest tourist attraction, with cubs being sighted by most tourists. In fact, most tourists sight 10 tigers in a safari.
“Ranthambore is a shining example of what wildlife tourism can do to a small district like Sawai Madhopur. The district earns over 350 crores each year from wildlife tourism with direct impact on local economy, on tens of thousands of people right down to the vegetable seller. There are 2,000 hotel rooms and 1,200 tourist vehicles in the district. The reserve’s revenue is estimated to touch Rs 30 crores in 20172018. The park today is totally self-sufficient for both its planned and non-planned expenditure, so much so that now surplus revenue can be diverted to less rich sanctuaries and parks in the state,” said Valmik Thapar, member Rajasthan State Wildlife Board and a wildlife enthusiast.
The revenue generation model of Ranthambore over the year has helped facilitate upgradation of infrastructure in the park including installation of solar panels.This has eased the hardships faced by forest guards to a large extent. E-patrolling, installing wireless sets and improving connectivity, improved tracks for guard patrolling and replenishing 100 waterholes, are some of the new facilities. Moreover, Rs 5 crores from RTR’s revenue has been set aside to improve infrastructure at Kaila Devi Sanctuary.
“Ranthambore has truly fulfilled the objective of ‘Project Tiger’ by creating tiger nuclei habitat to develop as a source area to re-populate other areas. The project visualized tiger reserves as breeding nuclei, from which surplus animals would migrate to adjacent forests. Ranthambore has a vibrant tiger population which is moving out to Kaila Devi Sanctuary, Bundi and even crossing Chambal river to migrate 250 km away to Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. Tourism and conservation may seem to be polar opposites, but they are complementary to each other. Our main focus is wildlife conservation and eco-tourism is an integral part of it,” said YK Sahu, CCF, wildlife, and field director, Project Tiger, Ranthambore.

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/ranthambore-tops-all-tiger-reserves-in-earnings/articleshow/58817058.cms