Meera Bhardwaj @ BRT:
Soliga tribe camp watchers and safari drivers (only at K Gudi) at BRT Tiger Reserve complain about non-payment of their monthly wages for the last four months. However, the Karnataka Forest Department says payment was delayed due to late disbursal of funds from the Centre but now the wages have been paid till December, 2025.
The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government which claims to be saviours of Scheduled Tribes and OBCs in the state have brushed aside the problem, activists assert and add, “Even if there is a delay in disbursal of funds from Project Tiger, the contractors should be enforced to make the payment on time to the camp watchers and safari drivers or otherwise, blacklist these errant companies.”
The Karnataka Forest Department has outsourced such forest jobs and call for tenders from contractors and companies to hire workers for the protected areas. In fact, for the last seven years, Soliga tribal members and other outsourced, Anti-Poaching Camp (APC) watchers and safari drivers at the Tiger Reserve have faced chronic, long-term payment issues. In 2025, a contractor firm in Mysuru was blacklisted for failing to pay these outsourced staff, including neglecting EPF/ESI contributions.
At BRT Tiger Reserve in Karnataka, the camp watchers in the five ranges and safari drivers (at K Gudi only) complained about non-payment of their wages of Rs 500 per day at BRT for the last four months. They add, “This is a recurring problem every year and we hope the state government resolves the issue permanently.”
BRT has 226 outsourced workers that includes camp watchers (including safari drivers @ K Gudi) in the five wildlife ranges of BRT Tiger Reserve. The non-payment of daily wages in this tiger reserve has led to unrest and strikes, thereby, leaving the prime forests unattended, activists aver.
Speaking to Green Minute News, B S Sripathi, BRT Tiger Reserve Director said, “Since there has been a delay in fund release from Project Tiger, the problem arose. Otherwise, we have ensured payment till December 2025. We have in fact, instructed the companies to make payments to the watchers even if there is a delay in fund release. In the coming days, the rest of the payment for January-February will be done soon.”
According to a naturalist, this is a recurring issue wherein the frontline staff working in risky and dangerous areas have to face this issue every year. He adds, “The working condition of the Soliga tribe members in the Anti-Poaching Camps situated at higher elevations is very tough and how long can they survive without salaries. How will their families survive? The safari drivers too are sailing in the same boat and have not received wages for 2-4 months.”
One safari driver said, “I work very hard and also do night duties in conflict areas diligently. But every year, this problem crops up and we are not paid for 4-5 months. We have to take loans at high interests and land up in debts. The department just gives us one uniform per year. And any complaint to the KFD has not resolved the issue persisting for so many years.”
A local activist adds, “The plight of the camp watchers is still worse as they are employed in field duties in the Anti-Poaching Camps. They work without any safety equipment inside the tiger reserve in remote and difficult locations. Patrolling duties are tough as each camp watcher has to climb the steep and cold hills and work for months. For some Soliga tribe members, it is a hand to mouth existence as they have to send money to their families every month.”
However, the BRT tiger Reserve Director assures, “We are doing our best to ensure monthly payment to the camp watchers. The problem arises when people leave their jobs and new ones join. Some new workers do not have their documents like PAN records and that is when the problem arises and delay in payments happen. If two workers get payment, the other worker who is new, payment is late due to lack of documents. Any delay in payment, we have sent notices to the companies who are hiring these workers and trying out best to make payments, once it is released from the central government.”
Forest Safari in BRT Tiger Reserve is operated by the Karnataka Forest Department at K Gudi. Safaris start early morning (6-8 am) and afternoon (3-5 pm). The Karnataka Forest Department Safari bookings are usually made at the K Gudi Information Centre costing roughly Rs 600 (which includes Rs 450 for safari and Rs 150 for Ecotourism-Development Committee) per person.
The BRT Tiger Reserve comprises six ranges which come under the Chamarajanagar and Yelandur sub-divisions. If Chamarajanagar range is territorial, the rest five are wildlife ranges and they are K Gudi, Punajanur, Yelandur, Kollegal, and Byloor, spanning a total area of 574.82 square kilometres. The tiger reserve is home to a wide range of species from tigers, leopards, elephants to Indian Gaur, Sloth Bear, barking deer to many species of birds that are endemic to Western Ghats.
(PHOTO CREDIT: ALL PHOTOS BY MEERA BHARDWAJ AT BRT TIGER RESERVE, CHAMARAJANAGAR DISTRICT, KARNATAKA)