Bhopal, March 5 : The Madhav National Park (MNP) in Shivpuri district of Gwalior-Chambal region will soon become the ninth Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on Wednesday.

CM Yadav said that Madhya Pradesh has not only retained the tag of 'Tiger State' for having the highest number of tigers but taking a progressive step in the wildlife and tourism sector.

"We have already eight Tiger Reserves in the state, and Madhav National Park of Shivpuri is going to become the 9th one very soon. I am congratulating to the people of the state in advance for this achievement," the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister said.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has already granted in-principle approval for the designation of Madhav National Park as a Tiger Reserve.

The approval was granted by the NTCA's Technical Committee on December 1 last year, which also sanctioned the release of one male and one female tiger into the park.

This step will not only strengthen wildlife management in Madhav and Kuno National Parks but also bring the ecotourism benefits to local communities and aid in regional development, Chief Minister Yadav said.

"When I am saying Tiger Reserves, it includes tourism also. All hotels, resorts and other business establishments in the surroundings of all Tiger Reserve are attracting more and more tourists," Yadav added.

The proposed Tiger Reserve (Madhav National Park) will span 1,751 square km, including a 375-square-km core area and a 1,276-square-km buffer zone.

Notably, Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary, located between Bhopal and Raisen districts, was designated as the 8th Tiger Reserve a few months back, and it was inaugurated by Chief Minister Yadav.

With this, Madhya Pradesh now houses eight tiger reserves.

The other tiger reserves are ' Kanha, Satpura, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Sanjay Dubri, Panna and Veerangana Durgavati, Ratapani and now Madhav National Park.

/IANS