Tiger Reserve to Become India’s Second Largest

Sundarbans Tiger Reserve inches closer to becoming India’s second-largest tiger sanctuary, as a long-pending proposal to expand its area by about 1,100 sq km has finally reached the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).

With the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) already granting technical approval, the final hurdle is clearance by the Standing Committee of the National Wildlife Board (NWLB). A senior state forest official confirmed to this correspondent that the revised proposal was submitted to the Centre a few days ago, paving the way for its inclusion in an upcoming NWLB meeting agenda.

Currently spread across 2,585.89 square kilometres, the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve (STR) will expand to 3,629.57 sq km once the Raidighi, Matla and Ramganga forest ranges in South 24-Parganas are formally incorporated. This expansion would position Sundarbans just behind Andhra Pradesh’s Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (3,727.82 sq km) in size and elevate it from the seventh to the second largest tiger reserve in India.

Speaking on Global Tiger Day at the National Zoological Park in Delhi on July 29, 2025, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav emphasised the government’s commitment to expanding and strengthening tiger habitats. “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the number of tiger reserves in the country has increased from 46 in 2014 to 58 till date,” said the minister, announcing a programme for planting 100,000 saplings across all the tiger reserves. 

“The expansion of the Sundarbans has already received technical approval from the NTCA,” GS Bhardwaj, former member secretary of the NTCA, had earlier told this correspondent. The NTCA, which reports to the MoEF&CC, is chaired by Yadav, takes technical decisions related to tiger conservation. Incidentally, the Standing Committee of the NWLB is also headed by Yadav.

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