Palamau Tiger Reserve
The Palamau Tiger Reserve is among one of the nine original tiger reserves in India and the only one in the state of Jharkhand, India. The reserve forms a part of the Betla National Park. The area in Palamu District in Jharkhand was set aside as a protected area in 1947 under the Indian Forests Act. Earlier, the area was used for cattle grazing and camping and the area was acutely prone to forest fire. In 1974 the area was set up as the Palamau Tiger Reserve.
This tiger reserve has a total area of 1,014 sq km with a core area of 414 sq km and a buffer area of 600 sq km. The core area is accosted by some of the forest villages like Ramandag, Latoo, and Kujurum. Most of the villages are small in area where one of the villages, Meral, consists of just 99 acres of land, 9 families and 78 members.
In 1993, there were 45 villages located in the buffer area and about 60 more located in the periphery of the reserve. As per the 2012 survey, those ranges accented to 136 villages to fall under the "buffer area" regulations of the Palamau Tiger Reserve. Only seven of the villages were in existence in 1923.
The villagers have no legal claim to lands that were settled after 1974 when the buffer area for the reserve was created.
