Villagers in Satkosia reserve face displacement as Odisha government revives tiger introduction plan.

• Dola Sasmal, 49, is among 112 families from Tuluka village, on the edge of the Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR), who were forced to leave their homes in 2023 due to the government’s demand for their land for tigers.
• The STR is one of 58 tiger reserves managed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), but it is one of four notified reserves that do not have a single tiger.
• In 2017, 78 families from Raigoda village were paid to shift out of the core area to prepare for the arrival of two tigers from Madhya Pradesh.
• The Odisha government is keen on resuming its tiger reintroduction plan, with a detailed project report outlining the prey base and safety measures for resuming the tiger supplementation programme.
• The pace of ‘voluntary’ migration from STR has gained momentum after the first relocation, with 674 families so far.
• The Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary and the Baisipali Sanctuary, established in 1976 and 1981 respectively, were combined in 2007 to form the STR, covering 1,136.70 sq. km.
• The management effectiveness evaluation of Tiger Reserves has pointed out the presence of four villages in the forest core, 131 villages in the buffer, and 234 villages in the surrounding impact zone.
• The NTCA has set 15 preconditions for the project, including making forest areas within the reserve inviolate and securing consent from locals and public representatives.
• The relocation policy has faced opposition from 46 families, who accepted a financial package for relocation, unaware of the deep tie their livelihood was tied to the forest.
• Prasanna Behera, an Angul-based lawyer advocating for environmental issues, emphasizes that the government must adhere to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act, 2013 and clearly state the purpose of relocating.
• Dibyasingh Dehury, 75, wants to return to his ancestral village, Raigoda, deep within the core area of STR.