Bhubaneswar: The National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) eastern zonal bench has suspended ecotourism activities at Deomali, Odisha’s highest peak in Koraput district.
The state has been directed to obtain clearance under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, within three months for structures built there, or demolish them and restore the land.
The bench of Justice B Amit Sthalekar (Judicial member) and Arun Kumar Verma (Expert member) noted that 10 cottages for tourists with dining halls and dormitories, and other constructions lacked permissions. “If the required approval is not obtained within the stipulated time, the…structures erected shall be removed, and the area shall be restored to its original form. In any case, no diversion of the land in question shall be made for non-forestry purposes, and the respondents [state and the Union governments] shall ensure strict compliance with the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, read with the Forest Rights Act, 2006.”
The bench also ordered for maintaining a 1.5-2 hectare pine plantation.
The Wildlife Society of Orissa challenged the constructions, with their lawyer, Sankar Prasad Pani, emphasizing the need for prior approval for non-forest activities. The Koraput Divisional Forest Officer claimed the site isn’t notified or deemed forest land, but the NGT questioned this, citing village meetings for Van Surakhya Samiti formation. “If the stand of the state is to be accepted, the question arises as to why were village level meetings held for the formation of Van Surakhya Samiti (VSS)? If the land in question was revenue land, the procedure as prescribed under the Forest Rights Act 2006 would have had no application or necessity.”
The Deomali project, part of the Centre’s Swadesh Darshan Scheme, has Rs 16 crore allocated for development of infrastructure to boost tourism and a proposed Rs 4.5 crore ecotourism complex. The department has also planted about 1,000 tropical pine saplings brought from Assam for beautification of the landscape of the spot.
