The buzz around proposal for Kerala’s first Tiger Safari Park at Chakkittapara in Kozhikode | Explained

Kerala government set to take decision to set up Tiger Safari Park at Chakkittapara in Kozhikode in northern Kerala to boost tourism. Opposed by upland farmers and action councils. 8-member panel constituted to finalise project area. 40 hectares of land in Perambra Estate to shelter 6 tigers. Forest Minister to make official declaration on Oct 8. UDF & Maoists oppose. Farmers fear freedom of movement & regulations. Forest dept. clarifies no threat to human habitat. Project modelled after Neyyar Lion Safari Park. Report to be submitted in a couple of weeks. Rehabilitation centre for captured elephants also under consideration.

The story so far: The decision to set up a Tiger Safari Park in the northern Kerala region to boost the region’s tourism potential was taken by the Kerala government on September 27, 2023 which came as a surprise for many, including upland farmers and the action councils formed against the continuing wild animal menace in the rural areas located closer to the Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary. An eight-member panel of senior Forest department officials was also constituted following the instructions of Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran to finalise the project area, which is now located in the limits of Kozhikode district’s Chakkittapara panchayat.

Though three locations came to the consideration of the panel, about 40 hectares of land now under the control of the Plantation Corporation in Perambra Estate topped the priority list for several administrative reasons. A team of Forest department officers recently visited the spot to check the feasibility and submit the final report to the Kerala government for implementation. If approved, the identified land would be developed for the project to initially shelter six tigers currently accommodated at the Animal Hospice Centre and Palliative Care in Wayanad’s Sulthan Bathery.

An official declaration regarding the government’s decision is set to be made by the Forest Minister in Kozhikode on October 8 during the culmination of the Wildlife Week Celebrations in Kerala. The Minister is also expected to announce a slew of newly designed projects aimed at reducing man-animal conflict in Kerala.

Who opposes the project? 

Soon after the government decision in favour of the park, the upland farmers in Kozhikode district and various farmers’ forums made their entry with their claims that the project would upset their agriculture activities in their land. According to them, the freedom of movement would be hit with the opening of the park with heightened regulations. Farmers’ organisations and action councils constituted to fight against the increasing wild animal menace in the areas described the project as a new strategy for the step-by-step implementation of the buffer zone regulations.  

A number of political parties under the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) also made their entry to support the farmers’ stand and oppose the proposal. What they sought was intensified attempts to protect the welfare of farmers who had been fighting a lost battle against wild animal menace in their fields and large-scale crop loss amidst falling prices. Recently, intelligence inputs also indicated the possibility of resistance on the part of Maoists to the proposal which resulted in the fortification of security and surveillance measures around the village.

Many of the protesters also communicated their concerns to the Forest Minister, apart from burning his photographs in protest against the move in villages. They also raised their objections at a recent meeting attended by Forest department officials and local panchayat authorities at Chakkittapara to clarify the stand of the Kerala government.