Documents accessed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act have flagged serious lapses within the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), with 88 tiger mortality cases from 2020-21 still marked “pending” or “under scrutiny.” The development has raised concerns among conservationists as the authority moves to “force-close” these cases, a step critics say may undermine accountability for wildlife.
Pending cases
The NTCA’s response to an RTI filed by Madhya Pradesh-based activist Ajay Dubey points to a wide geographic spread of unresolved deaths across key tiger habitats. Dubey said Chhattisgarh remains a blind spot, with cases in Bastar, Bhanupratappur, and Kawardha, including unresolved seizure cases.
Madhya Pradesh leads the backlog, with cases from Bandhavgarh, Kanha, and Panna. Maharashtra has pending deaths in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve and Chandrapur district, many outside protected areas, highlighting risks beyond reserve boundaries.
Gaps persist in Kaziranga National Park (Assam), Nagarhole, and Dudhwa, where several deaths remain unexplained or lack legal closure. In Uttarakhand’s Jim Corbett landscape, cases from Ramnagar, Shyampur, Dhela, and Kalagarh since 2020 still await final forensic reports.
Missing documents
RTI documents reveal that crucial evidence — including post-mortem reports, forensic analysis, histopathology findings, and photographic records — remains missing in these cases even after five years. Dubey warned that such delays weaken investigations, degrade evidence, and hinder prosecution in poaching cases.
Closure row
The controversy intensified after an NTCA directive dated January 12, 2026, asked states to submit pending documents by January 27, failing which cases would be closed as per policy. Dubey termed the move “administrative data laundering,” alleging it could erase potential poaching cases and management failures from official records. He has called for a high-level inquiry into the delays, suspension of the closure policy, stricter accountability of forest officials, and a transparent real-time system to track tiger mortalities.
Tiger deaths in 2020-2021
2021 2020
Total unresolved entries 54 34
Madhya Pradesh 22 10
Maharashtra 13 7
Uttar Pradesh 5 5
Assam 5 6
Chhattisgarh 3 1
Uttarakhand 2 2
Karnataka 1 2
Tamil Nadu 1 0
Telangana 1 0
West Bengal 1 0
Rajasthan 0 1
January 27
The expired NTCA deadline for states to submit missing forensic data