Context: Recently, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra has requested the Union government for considering an alternative alignment for the Akola-Khandwa rail line that passes through the Melghat Tiger Reserve.

About Melghat Tiger Reserve

• Melghat, part of the Satpura-Maikal landscape was among the first nine tiger reserves notified in 1973-74 under the Project Tiger.
• The Tapti River and the Gawilgadh ridge of the Satpura Range form the boundary of the reserve.
• The forest is tropical dry deciduous in nature, dominated by teak.
• The reserve is a catchment area for five major rivers: the Khandu, Khapra, Sipna, Gadga and Dolar. These all rivers are tributaries of the river Tapti.

Features

• It is the Deccan trap and underlying rock is basalt in one form or another.
• It has various species of mammals including Tiger, Leopard, Sloth bear, Gaur, etc.
• The forests are of deciduous nature and have been classified as ‘dry deciduous forests’. Most prominent is Teak.
• It forms a very important catchment to Tapi river systems.
• The Korku tribe adds to the cultural diversity of the Reserve.