After Ban Demand, Centre Seeks Clarification From Odisha Govt On Eco-Retreat Within Bhitarkanika

Bhubaneswar: Amid concern over eco-retreat at Pentha beach within Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary & its ecological impact, the Centre has sought a clarification from Odisha government on necessary approval and carrying capacity study for the glamping extravaganza.

The additional chief secretary (ACS) of Forest and Environment department has been asked to submit the clarification along with a detailed report amid allegation of possible non-compliance with environmental and wildlife conservation laws.

It has been asked to clarify if a clearance was obtained for the luxury tenting programme from the National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) as required under the Wildlife Protection Act and whether carrying capacity study was conducted to determine its environmental sustainability in the marine wildlife sanctuary mandated by the Ecotourism 2022 guidelines. “Given the ecological sensitivity of Bhitarkanika, particularly its role as a critical nesting site for the endangered Olive Ridley turtles, the matter requires urgent attention,” added the letter from the deputy inspector general of forests, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

Bhitarkanika’s Pentha Beach Eco Retreat is surrounded by a Casuarina forest within the Bhitarkanika National Park, which is a Ramsar Site (wetlands) and the second-largest mangrove ecosystem in India with highest population of saltwater crocodiles on the sub-continent. The programme, during which 25 luxury tents are set up in the eco-retreat for three months, is being held for two years.

Earlier this month, Environmental activist Alaya Samantaray, a resident of Marshaghai tehsil in Kendrapada district, had written a letter to the state chief secretary, additional chief secretary of the department as well as the deputy director general of forests and ADG forests at MoEFCC, seeking their immediate intervention in the matter.

He alleged that the eco-retreat camp is illegal as it falls within the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary. Motorised water sports along with other recreational activities with music, loudspeakers and highly-illuminated lights, prohibited at the site under Wildlife Protection Act 1972, will have irreversible impact on the wild animals, sea turtles and the environment, he added.