Maharashtra To Strengthen Forest-Police Coordination Against Wildlife Crime; District Tiger Cells To Meet Every Month
Mumbai: Wildlife crime is no longer local but inter-district, inter-state and international, and no single agency can tackle it alone, said Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Wildlife, M.S Reddy; stressing the need for police support in CDR/SDR analysis, cyber forensics and financial investigation, and for law and order during encroachment removal and human–wildlife conflict. Police…
Mumbai: Wildlife crime has expanded to inter-district, inter-state, and even international levels, according to Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Wildlife M.S Reddy. He emphasized the necessity of police collaboration in CDR/SDR analysis, cyber forensics, and financial investigations, as well as maintaining law and order during encroachment removal and human-wildlife conflict situations.
The Joint Circular issued by Reddy and the Director General of Police (DGP) on September 1, 2026, outlines measures to strengthen district tiger cells chaired by the Superintendent of Police. These cells will convene monthly, with quarterly revenue division-level reviews, the formation of Joint Investigation Teams for serious cases, permanent district-level Forest and Police nodal officers, and annual joint training.
Reddy also announced plans for a permanent inter-agency coordination mechanism among various authorities, including Forest, Police, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), Customs, Drug Rehabilitation Institute (DRI), Navy, Mangrove Cell, and Port Authorities in the Western Region. Sanjay Khandare, Additional Chief Secretary (Forests), elaborated on a forthcoming permanent coordination mechanism for handling seized exotic animals at airports and proposed creating a common platform for sharing information about wildlife offenses and offenders.
Khandare also proposed joint training for forest, police, and customs staff. Ganesh Naik, Forest Minister, and Sadanand Date, Director General of Police, chaired the workshop as chief guests. Naik stressed that wildlife protection is a collective responsibility of all agencies and citizens, not solely the Forest Department, and called for cooperation from all sectors in combating wildlife crime.
Date pledged full support to the Forest Department in preventing and investigating such crimes, and affirmed that district-level Forest-Police coordination will be enhanced under the Joint Circular.
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