New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday prohibited tiger safari within core areas of Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand.
It will now be restricted to the peripheral and buffer zones of the reserve forest subject to the conditions.
The Uttarakhand government had ealier proposed to have a tiger safari, a specialised zoo with caged animals, at the park.
While hearing the petition of environmental activist and attorney Gaurav Bansal, opposing this move, the SC also pulled up then Uttrakhand Forest Minister (Harak Singh Rawat) and then forest officials for indulging in commercial purposes in the illicit failing of trees on a mass scale. “Bureaucrats and politicians have thrown public trust doctrine in the waste bin,” it said while directing CBI to provide a status report on its investigation within three months.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has been instructed to form a committee consisting of representatives from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), MoEF Central Empowered Committee (CEC) officer, not below the rank of Joint Secretary, and wildlife authorities. This committee will be tasked with identifying the officers responsible, and any incurred costs shall be reclaimed from them. “Cost to be exclusively used for restoration of damage,” the court said.
The court further emphasised that it was evident that the national wildlife conservation plan acknowledges the necessity of wildlife preservation extending beyond protected areas. “The forest perishes without the tiger and thus the forest should protect all the tigers,” it said, quoting from the Mahabharata.
“We are permitting the establishment of tiger safari, but subject to our directions issued in the judgment,” the court added.
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