Daltonganj: Three frontline staffers of the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) have received the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s Award for Excellence for helping voluntarily relocate 22 families from Jaigir village in 2025.The awardees are range officer Umesh Dubey, field attendant Kumar Dharmveer and forest guard Gaurang Swansi, posted in PTR’s south division.Kumar Ashish, deputy director of the division, said the trio built trust among residents and enabled informed choices after Gram Sabha meetings and consultations. Around 160 people moved from Jaigir, in PTR’s Garu East Range, to Polpol under Palamu’s Sadar block.Calling their contribution “outstanding and balanced”, Ashish stressed that the relocation was voluntary. Families living inside tiger reserves often have limited access to roads, power, schools, healthcare, drinking water and irrigation because of restrictions on infrastructure development, he said.Ashish recalled that one family struggled to arrange its daughter’s marriage because of Jaigir’s remoteness and was among the first to move. PTR would assist other forest villages under the rehabilitation package only if residents opted to relocate, he added.The NTCA also honours frontline personnel for anti-poaching and forest-fire management. This year’s Global Tiger Day theme puts indigenous peoples and local communities at the heart of tiger conservation.
The awards ceremony
