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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Maharashtra-Andhra play ‘cupid’ to lone tiger

Mumbai: In a warm gesture, the Maharashtra government has ‘in principle’ agreed to translocate two tigresses to the Papikonda National Park (PNP) in Andhra Pradesh, subject to clearance from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), official sources said. The PNP is located in the Papi Hills of Eluru and Polavaram districts, and Maharashtra has responded positively to a request from the AP Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan. On Feb. 19, Kalyan, who holds the Environment & Forests...

Maharashtra-Andhra play ‘cupid’ to lone tiger

Mumbai: In a warm gesture, the Maharashtra government has ‘in principle’ agreed to translocate two tigresses to the Papikonda National Park (PNP) in Andhra Pradesh, subject to clearance from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), official sources said. The PNP is located in the Papi Hills of Eluru and Polavaram districts, and Maharashtra has responded positively to a request from the AP Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan. On Feb. 19, Kalyan, who holds the Environment & Forests departments, had made a formal written request to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, seeking two tigresses from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) of Chandrapur district. Citing the backgrounder, Kalyan said that on Jan. 20, a dispersing tiger from central India had entered AP state through the eco-sensitive zone of PNP tiger reserve, after traversing through Telangana. ‘Dispersing’ is the natural behaviour of young and independent tigers to leave their birthplace to carve their own territories, find mates and establish a new home. This prevents inbreeding, reduces competition on resources with their parents and enables genetic health of the larger tiger population in the wilds. The migrant tiger traversed over 650-kms through Eluru, East Godavari and Konaseema districts for nearly three weeks mostly through human dominated landscapes, when it was hunting for food also. “Though there were 20-22 instances of livestock depredation, no human injury was reported,” informed Kalyan, adding that the tiger passed through three States. Explaining the purpose for seeking two tigresses, Kalyan contended that it would boost inter-state wildlife conservation and sustainable tiger conservation in the Eastern Ghats landscape. Considering public safety and the NTCA’s Standard Operating Procedures the migrant tiger was tranquilized and safely captured on Feb. 6, 2026 through coordinated efforts of AP Forest Department, veterinarians and wildlife experts, he said. To keep track of his further movements, the tiger was fitted with a Satellite Radio Collar (SRC) and released in the PNP. Thereafter, the AP’s Expert Committee suggested release of two female tigers to facilitate breeding and territorial stability. After examining the issue in detail, Maharashtra’s Chief Wildlife Warden & Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Marthala Shrinivasa Reddy informed Additional Chief Secretary (Forest), that the proposal may be considered ‘in principle’, subject to formal proposal by AP government to NTCA and approvals from the latter and preparations of a mutually agreed translocation and post-release monitoring. “The translocation of tigers from Maharashtra to another state involves inter-State transfer of Schedule-I wildlife and requires prior approval of NTCA and other competent authorities as prescribed under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and relevant guidelines,” Reddy informed. Reddy said that while the male-female ratio in TATR is comparatively low, but the adjoining Chandrapur Forest circle possesses an adequate female tiger population, from where two suitable females could be considered for translocation after all statutory approvals and procedures are completed. After Reddy’s green signal, the state Deputy Secretary (Forests) Niketa Pande wrote to the AP’s Principal Secretary (Environment and Forest) about Maharashtra’s ‘in-principle’ approval, and requested to complete all other formalities at the earliest to provide mates for the solo tiger in PNP.

Choking Mumbai

For decades, Mumbai was perceived as a rare urban oasis, where the saline sweep of the Arabian Sea blunted the worst ravages of India's air pollution. That illusion has now been dispelled. A meticulous four-year study by Respirer Living Sciences (RLS), using data from its AtlasAQ platform, reveals the bleak truth that the city’s air is thick with pollutants all year round, with no ‘clean season’ left.


Mumbai’s annual average levels of PM10 (particulate matter ten microns or less in diameter) have consistently breached the national safety threshold of 60 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m³). This is not merely a seasonal malaise tied to cooler winter months, as once assumed. Alarmingly, the city’s pollution levels persist even through the hot season, a time when improved atmospheric dispersion should offer natural reprieve.


Across the city - from Chakala in Andheri East to Deonar, Kurla, Vile Parle West and Mazgaon - pollution has become an unrelenting, ubiquitous presence.


The culprits are well known: traffic emissions from a burgeoning number of vehicles; unregulated dust from frenzied construction; industrial activity in and around the ports; and a conspicuous lack of dust control measures. Mumbai’s ceaseless growth now risks becoming a chronic liability.


Worryingly, the regulatory response remains sluggish. Mumbai’s urban planning continues to treat clean air as a peripheral concern, not a foundational necessity. Development plans rarely integrate environmental impact assessments in a meaningful way.


A sharper, citywide strategy is urgently needed. Dust suppression rules at construction sites must be enforced strictly, with financial penalties for violators and incentives for best practices. Traffic management systems should be overhauled to ease congestion and encourage the use of public transport. Expansion of clean, reliable mass transit network needs to be urgently prioritised. In addition, comprehensive real-time air monitoring at the ward level should be deployed, enabling authorities to respond to localised pollution spikes swiftly rather than relying on citywide averages that conceal dangerous hotspots.


Longer-term, clean air targets must be hardwired into the city’s master planning and transport policies. Green buffers along major traffic corridors, stricter emission norms for commercial vehicles and incentives for rooftop gardens and urban afforestation could all play a part. Industrial zones near port areas should be subjected to rigorous air quality compliance measures, not token self-certifications. Private developers and large infrastructure firms, often among the worst offenders, must be made stakeholders in the clean air mission through binding regulations.


Mumbai’s commercial dynamism - as a magnet for migrants, entrepreneurs and investors - depends not just on glittering skyscrapers but on something far more basic: the ability to breathe. Unless clean air becomes an unshakeable priority, the city risks suffocating its own future. For a metropolis that prides itself on its resilience against terror attacks, monsoon floods and economic shocks, the real test will be whether it can muster the will to fight an invisible, pervasive enemy slowly corroding the lives of its 20 million citizens.

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