Chhattisgarh’s Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Declared India’s 56th And 3rd Largest Tiger Reserve

The Chhattisgarh government has announced the Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve, bringing the state’s total number of tiger reserves to four. The notification, issued on November 4, 2024, designates an area of 2,829.38 sq km for the reserve, including a core zone of 2,049.2 sq km covering the Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary. A buffer zone of 780.15 sq km has also been established, making it the third-largest tiger reserve in India, after Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh and Manas in Assam.

Located across Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur, Korea, Surajpur, and Balrampur districts, the reserve aligns with India’s National Wildlife Plan by adopting a landscape-based approach to conservation. It connects to the Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, forming a 4,500 sq km landscape complex, and links to Bandhavgarh and Palamau Tiger Reserves to the west and east, respectively.

The Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve is home to 753 documented species, including 230 bird species, 55 mammal species, and numerous invertebrates, as per the Zoological Survey of India. Several of these species are classified as threatened.

The establishment of this reserve reflects Chhattisgarh’s ongoing efforts to strengthen tiger conservation under Project Tiger, in collaboration with the National Tiger Conservation Authority.