Two committees to probe tigress death

MUMBAI: Exactly a week after tigress Avni was shot dead in the forests of Pandharkawada forests of Yavatmal district, two separate committees have been formed to look into the allegations of violations and procedures.

While a four-member panel has been instituted by the Maharashtra government, another was formed by Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change.

On 2 November, tigress T1, known by nickname, Avni, aged between five and six years, was shot dead near the Borati village in Pandharkavda division of Yavatmal in Vidarbha region.

Maharashtra Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar was under fire for Avni’s death. However, he maintained the necessary rules of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was followed.

The 3-member panel of Centre’s MoEF-NTCA will probe into the “final operation” that eliminated T1, as per the memo by Dr Vaibhav C Mathur, asst IG, NTCA.

The members are OP Kaler, exaddl chief conservator of forests, Jose Louies, dy director & chief, Wildlife Control Division and Communication, Wildlife Trust of India and Hemant Kamdi, asst IG, NTCA, Nagpur. It will submit its report by Nov 26. The state panel ordered by Mungantiwar to find out if guidelines and procedures were not violated has four members —SH Patil, chief conservator of forest, Dr Bilal Habib from WII, Anish Andheria, chief of Wildlife Conservation Trust and Nitin Kakodkar, addl chief conservator.