Netravali, Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuaries proposed as core areas
Panaji: Recommending that a tiger reserve be notified in Goa within the next three months, the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has suggested that the proposed tiger reserve be introduced in the state in two phases.
In a report submitted to the apex court on November 21, 2025, the CEC has suggested that in the first phase, Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary (211.05 sq km) and Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary (85.65 sq km) be notified as core areas, forming a combined 296.7 sq km tiger habitat, to integrate with the core area of Kali Tiger Reserve in Karnataka.
It further suggested that in the second phase, Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary (64.9 sq km) and Bhagwan Mahaveer National Park (107 sq km) be notified as buffer zone, adding 171.9 sq km, in line with the continuous buffer zone of Kali Tiger Reserve.
The report will now be placed before the Supreme Court on December 15, 2025, for final order.
It may be noted that the Goa government had challenged the judgment passed by the High Court of Bombay at Goa in Panaji directing notification of tiger reserve in Goa.
The CEC has stated that its report is based on field visits, consultations with state government officials, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), International Big Cat Alliance and other relevant stakeholders, and after examining the spatial configuration of the Protected Areas of Goa in relation to the core and buffer zones of the contiguous Kali Tiger Reserve.
Other recommendations of the top panel include that the state government prepare a Tiger Conservation Plan as mandated under Section 38V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, in consultation with NTCA, immediately after declaration of the Goa tiger reserve.
The plan shall include measures for strengthening and maintaining habitat connectivity with the Kali Tiger Reserve; regulating, monitoring and mitigating the impacts of linear infrastructure, mining and other developmental pressures.
The report suggests that the Tiger Conservation Plan include measures for improving prey base through habitat restoration and scientific wildlife management interventions; strengthening frontline protection, patrolling capacity, and anti-poaching infrastructure and establishing long-term monitoring protocols, including the use of camera traps, genetic sampling and occupancy surveys.
This will ensure that the proposed Goa tiger reserve functions as an ecologically integrated and viable landscape, forming an integral part of the larger Kali-Goa conservation complex, the CEC report states.
The report states that protected areas with significantly higher number of households such as the southern part of Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary (approximately 560 households) and Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary (approximately 612 households) shall not be included in the first phase of the proposed Goa tiger reserve.
“These areas would require extensive community consultations, sustained awareness-building and confidence-generation measures before any decision regarding their inclusion can be taken. Their incorporation, if found appropriate, may be examined in the second phase, after securing local support and adequately addressing livelihood and rehabilitation concerns,” the report states.
“In view of the public apprehension regarding displacement and land acquisition, the state government shall undertake structured and sustained awareness programmes to clearly communicate that the declaration of a tiger reserve does not entail compulsory relocation of villages from buffer areas nor the automatic acquisition of private land.”
“Securing the informed cooperation and confidence of local communities is critical for the long-term success and sustainability of tiger conservation efforts in the state of Goa,” the CEC report states.
