Medininagar, Dec 10 (PTI) The census of tigers along with other wild animals in all forest areas of Jharkhand will start on December 15, an official said on Wednesday.
Chief Conservator of Forests and Field
Director of Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) S R Natesh has been appointed as the Nodal Officer for the exercise.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Natesh said, "The census will be conducted digitally using the Ecological App. The Government of India has appointed me as the nodal officer for the state to carry out this comprehensive census."
He said that apart from digital counting, the animals will also be counted manually. The app-based census will be completed by December 22, after which wildlife counting in protected and non-protected forest divisions will be conducted with human assistance and is expected to conclude by April 2026.
The Chief Conservator of Forests said that Jharkhand has a total of 36 forest divisions, of which 31 are general divisions. Five are wildlife divisions, including the tiger reserve in Palamu.
Around 1,600 employees will be deployed for the exercise, and volunteers will also be roped in for support, the nodal officer said.
In response to a question, he said that during the last census, no separate funds were received for counting forest animals, but this time a demand of Rs 5 lakh per division has been made to the Government of India through proper channels.
He also said that even if funds are not allotted, the census of tigers and other wildlife will be carried out as planned.
The last tiger census in Jharkhand was conducted between October 2021 and March 2022. PTI COR RPS RPS RG
