MADHYA PRADESH PLANS its first conservation reserves

One of the last remaining unconquered Congress bastions of the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, could be a key wildlife tourism destination in the future.

- ANURAAG SINGH @ Bhopal

Raghogarh in Guna district – home to the family of Rajya Sabha member and two-time former chief minister Digvijaya Singh has been a Congress fortress since 1977. Represented in the Vidhan Sabha by Singh's son and former minister Jaivardhan Singh since 2013, Raghogarh is among three areas in different parts of MP where the state forest department plans to develop conservation reserves.

Conservation reserves are protected areas, typically acting as buffer zones or corridors between national parks and wildlife sanctuaries to reduce human disturbance. They are managed by the state government's Conservation Reserve Management Committee, often in consultation with local communities, to protect biodiversity and natural resources, while allowing traditional rights and community-based practices.

They are governed by the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, specifically through its amendments.

While there are 115 conservation reserves across the country (maximum 33 in J&K, 21 in Rajasthan, 17 in Karnataka and 15 in Maharashtra), MP, which has nine tiger reserves, has no conservation reserve yet.