A proposal to set up an ethanol manufacturing plant near the protected tiger corridor forests in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district is expected to come up for review during Monday’s meeting of the Telangana State Board for Wildlife (SBWL), reports Deccan Chronicle.
The planned plant, which includes a 100-kilolitre-per-day ethanol production facility and a co-generation power unit, is situated less than 100 metres from forest land identified as a key corridor for tiger movement. Wildlife officials and conservationists have raised concerns, citing the area’s importance for species such as tigers and leopards.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had earlier stated that no industrial activity can be permitted in or around such sensitive habitats without clearance from the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL). The NTCA guidelines further clarify that any unapproved industrial facility in a tiger corridor or its buffer area must be dismantled and the developers held accountable under wildlife protection laws.
The status of the forest area itself has also come under question following the Telangana government’s decision to put GO 49 on hold. That order had earlier declared the corridor a ‘conservation reserve’—the only region in the district that supports a tiger population—offering it additional protection.
Forest officials from KB Asifabad district have formally opposed the plant, noting that several protected species, including tigers and leopards, frequently use the adjoining forest. Officials believe the plant’s location poses a threat to wildlife in the region and undermines conservation efforts.
Sources said the SBWL meeting may also revisit the disappearance of tigers and leopards from the forest areas surrounding the proposed site. In January last year, a male tiger and two of its cubs were found poisoned after reportedly feeding on a poisoned cattle carcass. The female tiger and two additional cubs that were part of the same family were never seen again and are presumed dead.
As debate around the ethanol plant intensifies, conservationists are urging the state to uphold the NTCA guidelines and prioritize the safety of wildlife over industrial development.
