The government has decided to establish new tiger reserves in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.
In-principle approval has been granted to set up the reserves in Sahyadri (Maharashtra), Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh), Ratapani (Madhya Pradesh) and Sunabeda (Orissa).
At present there are 38 tiger reserves in the country. The latest was opened last month at Parambikulam in Kerala. Overall, the reserves cover about 50,000 square km of tiger habitat.
India has about 1,400 tigers and their population is dwindling due to diminishing habitat and aggressive poaching.