Judgment of the Supreme Court on the protection and management of tiger safaris in India, 06/03/2024
Judgment of the Supreme Court in the matter of T N Godavarman Thirumulpad/ Gaurav Kumar Bansal Vs Union of India & Others dated 06/03/2024.
A perusal of the report of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on the matter "depicts a bleak picture of things in the Corbett National Park". The report make it clear that "some of the forest officers have blatantly resorted to illegal felling of trees, proceeding with construction activities" in flagrant disregard of the provisions of the law and orders of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court (SC), March 6, 2024 directed that the safaris which are already existing and the one under construction at Pakhrau will not be disturbed. However, the SC directed Uttarakhand to relocate or establish a rescue centre in the vicinity of the Pakhrau Tiger Safari.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has been directed to appoint a committee consisting of representatives from the NTCA; Wildlife Institute of India (WII); CEC and MoEF&CC.
The committee would recommend the measures for restoration of the damages, in the local in situ environment to its original state before the damage was caused. The committee would assess the environmental damage caused in the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) and quantify the costs for restoration. The committee was entrusted to identify the persons and officials responsible for such a damage. The state of Uttarakhand has been asked to recover the cost so quantified from the persons/delinquent officers found responsible for the same. The cost so recovered would be exclusively used for the purpose of restoration of the damage caused to the environment. In addition, the committee would specify how the funds so collected would be utilized for active restoration of ecological damage.
The committee would consider and recommend on the question as to whether tiger safaris should be permitted in the buffer area or fringe area. If such safaris can be permitted, then what should be the guidelines for establishing such safaris? Also, the type of activities that should be permitted and prohibited in the buffer zone and fringe areas of the tiger reserve. "While doing so, if tourism is to be promoted, it has to be eco-tourism" and the type of construction that should be permitted in such resorts would be in tune with the natural environment. The measures that are required to be taken for effective management and protection of tiger reserves which should be applicable on a pan India basis.
These were some of the directions issued by the Supreme Court in its 159 page judgment.