Madhya Pradesh

• 18 Jan 2024

Madhya Pradesh Government Fund Crisis

Why in News?

Madhya Pradesh government has put 370 schemes on hold due to the fund crisis. This includes schemes concerning schools, IT industry, farm loans, metro rail and Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojana.

Key Points

• Officials have stated that none of the projects have been closed, but the funds are being held securely. Additionally, approval from the finance department is required before withdrawing funds for any schemes.
• The new government inherited a debt of Rs 3.5 lakh crore, and in less than a month, it has taken a fresh loan of Rs 2,000 crore.
• In the first supplementary budget of Rs 26,816.6 crore passed in the assembly in July 2023, Rs 762 crore was set aside to pay the interest of the new market loans taken by the government. The second supplementary budget will be passed in the assembly.
• Among the major financial responsibilities of the government is the Ladli Behna scheme, which needs nearly Rs 1,600 crore every month.

Tiger Found Dead in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve

Why in News?

Recently, a young tiger was found dead in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria district.

Key Points

• The carcass of the sub-adult tiger, aged between 12 months and 18 months, was spotted in a trench in Dhamokhar range of the BTR.
• The carcass was disposed of as per guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) after an autopsy.
  • On January 9, the carcass of a young tiger, aged between 15 months and 18 months, was found lying in a trench in the Pator range of BTR.
• Madhya Pradesh retained the “tiger State” status in the recent census (2022), with the number of big cats in the State rising to 785 from 526 in 2018.
• As per the report ‘Status of Tigers: Co-predators & Prey in India-2022’, released by the NTCA and Wildlife Institute of India in July 2023, Madhya Pradesh (785) has the highest number of tigers in the country, followed by Karnataka (563) and Uttarakhand (560).

Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR)

• It is located in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh and is spread over the Vindhya hills.
• In 1968, it was notified as a national park and in 1993 was declared a tiger reserve- under the Project Tiger Network at the neighbouring Panpatha Sanctuary.
• It derives its name from the most prominent hillock of the area, which was said to be given by Hindu Lord Rama to his brother Lakshmana to keep a watch on Lanka. Hence the name Bandhavgarh.
• It is known for the Royal Bengal Tigers. The density of the tiger population at Bandhavgarh is the highest known in India as well as in the world.
• The whole park is filled with more than 20 streams out of which some of the most important streams are Johilla, Janadh, Charanganga, Damnar, Banbei, Ambanala and Andhiyari Jhiria.
  • These streams then merge into the Son river (an important southern tributary to the river Ganga).
• The important prey species consists of chital, sambhar, barking deer, nilgai, chinkara, wild pig, chowsingha, langur and rhesus macaque.
• Dependent upon them are the major predators like tiger, leopard, wild dog, wolf and jackal.

Wildlife Institute of India

• It is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• It was established in 1982.
• It is based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
• It offers training programs, academic courses, and advisory in wildlife research and management.