The core or critical tiger habitats as required under section 38-V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 have been identified and notified by the states. Out of the 17 states with tiger reserves, eleven states AP, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, MP, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal have notified the core tiger habitats. Four tiger states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and UP have taken a decision to notify core tiger habitats. Only two states, Jharkhand and Orissa, are yet to finalize notification.

The notification covers an area of around 31940 sq kms of tiger reserves to support a viable population of wild tigers in the country. These are to be established as per provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act.