Panaji:  Nearly 15,000 people living in Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa will be affected if it is notified as a tiger reserve, BJP MLA Deviya Rane said on Tuesday.

The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday directed the state government to notify Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and its surrounding areas as a tiger reserve.

Talking to reporters, Rane, who represents the Poriem Assembly constituency, said while saving tigers and Mhadei is important, protecting people living in the sanctuary is also equally important.

Nearly 15,000 people will be affected if the sanctuary is notified as a tiger reserve, she said.

Several villages in the wildlife sanctuary will be affected if the area is declared as a tiger reserve, Rane said.

It won’t be right to say that announcing a tiger reserve is necessary to save Mhadei river from being diverted to Karnataka, she said, adding that the state government is working on several other legal ideas to protect the river.

On Monday, State Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane said that the state government will challenge the Bombay High Court’s order in the Supreme Court.

Spread over 208 sq km, Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the northeastern part of the state adjoining Karnataka.

Goa and Karnataka are embroiled in a dispute over the sharing of Mhadei river water and the former has often accused its southern neighbour of going ahead with construction unilaterally by ignoring norms.