Considering the major concern of Diminishing tiger population has been a major issue for the entire country. Different reasons are raised to the lessening number of tigers in India. Considering this a major problem, Central Zoo Authority (CZA), citing violation of wildlife norms has asked Madhya Pradesh forest department to stop tiger safari in the state's Pench National Park.

Pench national Park is famous as home to 'Mowgli'. the protagonist of Rudyard Kipling's 'The Jungle Book'. In a letter to the State's Chief Wildlife Warden, the CZA said that, no safari shall be established without its prior approval. "As per records of the CZA, no approval has been granted for creation of safari at Pench tiger reserve or Bandhavgarh tiger reserve. Therefore, no construction work should be carried out," the communique said.

Before this, Many wildlife activists have been objecting to the creation of tiger safari claimed that they concerned about the harm for the big cats in Pench and in Bandhavgarh national parks.   

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, has also found alleged violation of laws in construction of tiger safaris in these two national parks.

NTCA has also written to  the state government saying the ongoing construction of tiger safari inside Pench ‘is detrimental to tiger dispersal’ and ‘exposes them to poaching’.

There are six tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh--Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Panna, Bori-Satpura, Sanjay-Dubri and Pench which have at least 257 big cats.

The tiger population in the country was estimated at 1,706 in 2010, it rose to 2,226 in 2014. Madhya Pradesh ranks third after Karnataka and Uttarakhand in tiger population in the country.

- Mayuka.