'India Is The Only Country Where Tiger Population Is Growing': Union Minister Yadav Slams Al Jazeera

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on Monday (10 April) slammed a media report stating that India's tiger conservation strategies were "deeply influenced" by American environmentalism and disrupted the lives of communities living in forests for centuries.

Yadav dismissed the report as the result of "heartburn" for a "hate-driven, propaganda media" and highlighted that India is the only country where the tiger population is growing.

“India is the only country where tiger population is growing as opposed to other nations, where it has either stagnated or is declining. So, only natural for ‘hate-driven, propaganda media’ Al Jazeera to experience heartburn,” Yadav said in a tweet and posted a snapshot of the report.

“Some day, if Al Jazeera left propaganda and did journalism, it will be able to appreciate that India’s tiger agenda is inclusive and successful because of the participation of local communities. Our Tiger Reserves generate employment of over 50 L man-days annually for the locals,” he added.

The report was originally published by US news agency Associated Press and carried by Al Jazeera.

The original article titled ‘As tiger count grows, India's Indigenous demand land rights’ was published by Associated Press and shared on Al Jazeera.

It criticised India's tiger conservation strategy despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement that the population has grown to over 3,000 due to the conservation program.

India's Project Tiger started in 1973 due to dwindling tiger numbers caused by habitat loss, unregulated hunting, poaching, and retaliatory killing by humans.

According to the AP report, several Indian Adivasi group have been requesting land rights to promote sustainable forest management as an alternative to relocation projects.