India, Nov. 25 -- A Supreme Court (SC)-appointed panel has recommended that a tiger reserve be notified in Goa in two stages, citing the need for community consultations, awareness building, and confidence generation, even as the state government opposed the idea. It proposed that the areas contiguous with Karnataka's Kali Tiger Reserve be first notified as the core area.

The Supreme Court formed the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) after Goa challenged a July 2023 high court order to notify a tiger reserve covering the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and surrounding areas (around 750 square kilometers) in the Western Ghats. It was tasked with examining the issue and filing a report after hearing all the parties.

The committee circulated a c...