Wildlife aid: Centre allocated Rs 47 crore to Telangana, but released just Rs 15 crore
The IDWH scheme covers two sub-programmes — Development of Wildlife Habitats, and Project Tiger & Elephant, which are aimed at habitat conservation, anti-poaching measures, eco-development and mitigating human-wildlife conflicts.
According to data tabled in Lok Sabha, under the Development of Wildlife Habitats sub-scheme, Telangana received an allocation of Rs 1.13 crore in 2020–21, of which Rs 0.37 crore was released. For the next four years (2021–22 to 2024–25) there was no allocation or releases recorded for the state.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change clarified that '0.00' entries indicate that either the Annual Plan of Operation (APO) was not received for the state or incomplete proposals were submitted.
Under the Project Tiger & Elephant sub-scheme, the state was allocated Rs 14.34 crore in 2020–21, with Rs 3.52 crore released. In 2021–22, while the allocation was Rs 9.87 crore, only Rs 5.43 crore was released.
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