Nagpur: National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has informed Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court that the time needed for verifying individual tiger deaths is the reason for its website not reflecting the latest mortality figures immediately, resulting in temporary discrepancies between the state and central data.The explanation was given during the hearing of a suo motu PIL in front of a division bench comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Rajnish Vyas over a series of tiger deaths in the last two years.Earlier, court-appointed amicus curiae Chaitanya Dhruv had raised the issue of the conflicting figures. Dhruv pointed to discrepancies between data maintained by Maharashtra Forest Department and NTCA. The court was informed that 16 tiger deaths recorded in NTCA’s centralised information system between 2021 and 2025 did not figure in the state’s official data.The petition also claimed that 298 tigers died in Maharashtra over the past 12 years, with at least 110 deaths allegedly attributable to human-induced and preventable causes.During the hearing, deputy solicitor general Karthik Shukul, appearing for NTCA, orally explained that every reported tiger death undergoes a verification process. Since the process takes time, the authority cannot immediately update the figures on its website. This accounts for the apparent difference between the state and central figures, he said.The court granted NTCA seven weeks to place the explanation on record in writing. NS Rao appeared for the state govt.The court also turned its attention to tiger deaths caused by electrocution. The court was told that 33 tiger deaths so far had been attributed to electrocution.The petition further stated that Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) had prepared 127 proposals costing Rs82.44 crore for installation of aerial bundled (AB) cables to reduce such risks, but none had received full funding.The court noted that MSEDCL had not yet filed its response and granted the power utility another opportunity to do so.
