Alarmed by statistics that the number of Indian tigers has dwindled sharply to
about 3,700, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to increase the visibility of
this issue by visiting Ranthambore National Forest in Rajasthan.
Despite such high touch visibility to the problem, the number of cases of
poaching has only increased. Therefore, the government has decided to set up a
wildlife crime control bureau to protect animals and check smuggling of their
skin and body parts. Led the National Wildlife Board to give a final go-ahead
for the creation of a National Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (NWCCB) on lines
of the National Narcotics Bureau, this body will evolve a national policy for
checking the illegal trade in animal products and probe wildlife crimes in a
professional manner. As part of this process, it was also decided to legally
empower Army Commanders for containing poaching especially in the border areas
of Jammu & Kashmir and the Northeast and modify the Wildlife (Protection) Act,
1972 to reflect this empowerment.
Under the Indian Constitution, crime is a state subject. However, the enormity
of threat to wildlife in the country and illegal international trade of skin
and other body parts has necessitated the creation of an autonomous federal
authority. Besides poaching, there are also increased instances of
deforestation and encroachment on forestland in the past two years which has
reduced tiger habitation by 26% in the country's 28 tiger reserves.