Mumbai: Forest Minister Ganesh Naik on Wednesday informed the State Assembly that 41 tigers died across Maharashtra in 2025, with the majority of fatalities attributed to natural causes. Of the total deaths, 28 were natural, eight resulted from accidents, four were caused by electrocution and one case of poaching was recorded.
MLAs Raise Concerns Over Electrocution
The issue drew attention from several MLAs, who submitted written queries highlighting recent incidents, including a tiger’s death due to electrocution in Wardha district, another killed after being hit by a train on the Ballarshah–Gondia railway track, and cases linked to human-animal conflict. Responding to the concerns, Naik said the government has intensified its efforts to curb tiger deaths while balancing conservation success with emerging challenges.
The minister described the Ballarshah–Gondia railway corridor as particularly vulnerable, as it cuts through forest divisions and sensitive buffer zones of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve and the Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve. According to official data, five tiger deaths have occurred on this route between 2011 and 2025. He said the Chief Conservator of Forests (Regional), Chandrapur, has formally taken up the matter with railway authorities, seeking mitigation measures such as constructing underpasses and overpasses on new rail lines, enforcing a 40 kmph speed limit in ecologically sensitive stretches and ensuring proper disposal of food waste by passengers to prevent wildlife from being drawn to the tracks.
Growing Tiger Population Leads to Increased Migration
Naik observed that Maharashtra’s growing tiger population reflects effective conservation measures, but also increases the likelihood of migration into human-dominated areas, often resulting in conflict. To strengthen response mechanisms, the state has proposed to the Finance Department the recruitment of 368 contractual personnel for Rapid Rescue Units, Tiger Cells and Elephant Tracking Teams.
Detailing technological interventions, the minister said frontline staff are using the M-Stripes mobile monitoring system to track animal movement and suspicious activity. A strengthened Wildlife Crime Cell in Nagpur and a cyber cell operating in Melghat are leveraging digital tools to detect and prevent poaching. The department is also considering deploying Special Tiger Protection Forces, dog squads and metal detectors to locate iron traps near water bodies.
Naik assured the House that district-level tiger committees are regularly reviewing conservation strategies and that a dedicated secret service fund is being utilised to maintain an intelligence network at the forest range level. He maintained that while tiger deaths remain a concern, the government is committed to reducing avoidable fatalities through coordinated technological, administrative and field-level measures.
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