BENGALURU: Amid rising demands to shrink Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) and revise the notified buffer around Bhadra Tiger Reserve, a recent directive from National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has put the Karnataka govt in a tight spot.
The Jan 2026 directive effectively stalls legislators’ push to alter the buffer, clarifying the entire buffer surrounding Bhadra must be treated as part of ESZ.After successfully persuading the state govt to reduce the proposed ESZ from the default 10km to just 1km, several elected representatives from Chikkamagaluru met forest minister Eshwar Khandre during the recent budget session. They renewed demands to modify the buffer area by excluding human habitations and private land parcels.
If approved, this would have made Bhadra one of the first tiger reserves in the country to alter an already notified buffer zone.Before the state could act, NTCA reiterated its position in clear terms: “The entire buffer zone should be included in the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ). A radial cushion of minimum one kilometre should be kept from the critical tiger habitat wherever the buffer is disjunct or absent. Wherever the protected area forms part of the buffer, then a minimum of one kilometre cushion should be demarcated around the said buffer also.
”Forest department officials pointed out that the original argument for reducing the ESZ — from 10 km to 1 km — was based on the presence of villages and concerns over development restrictions. “Interestingly, the buffer area, notified in 2011, around Bhadra also includes around 50-54 villages, making it difficult to justify similar relaxations now in light of the latest NTCA directive. If the govt is still willing to pursue the matter, then Bhadra will be one of the first tiger reserves in South India to alter its notified buffer area,” a forest official said, requesting anonymity.Referring to the NTCA guidelines, the officer added, “The state govt can consider revision of ESZ boundary while making a recommendation. With the latest guidelines, it cannot modify the buffer as it will be deemed to be considered as ESZ and there is no scope for further reduction in the area.”Conservation experts cautioned that any move to alter the notified buffer would require clearance from higher authorities such as National Board for Wildlife and possibly even the Supreme Court of India.
They stressed that buffer zones are meant to promote coexistence between humans and wildlife, making it unlikely that apex bodies would permit reductions merely to exclude select villages. Wildlife activists also alleged that the push to revise the buffer is aimed at facilitating luxury resorts by politically connected individuals from Karnataka and neighbouring Telangana, adding that complaints have already been submitted to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.Currently, Bhadra Tiger Reserve has a core critical tiger habitat of 500sqkm, surrounded by a buffer of 571.8sqkm notified in 2011. In 2019, the state proposed an ESZ ranging from 3km to 10km around the buffer, covering several villages, but the proposal was returned by the Centre.Defending the decision to reduce the ESZ, Khandre said, “The proposed ESZ had places such as govt offices, school, hospitals, bus stands affecting the daily life of the citizens. We have been reviewing these problems and in the process of identifying alternative land with sufficient green cover to compensate for the same and submit a fresh proposal. But with regard to altering the buffer, I will hold a meeting with the senior officials of the department and explore what the rules say.
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