Supreme Court pulls up former Minister for destroying Jim Corbett, bans tiger safari in core area

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that Tiger Safari can be permitted in the buffer zone of Jim Corbett National Park but not in its core area [In Re: Gaurav Kumar Bansal].A bench of Justices BR Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra and Sandeep Mehta also pulled up former Uttarakhand Forest Minister Harak Singh Rawat and Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Kishan Chand for destroying the National Park.."This is a case that shows how a nexus between a Politician and a Forest Officer has resulted in causing heavy damage to the environment for some political and commercial gain. Even the recommendation of the Senior Officers of the Forest Department, the Vigilance Department, and the Police Department which objected to his posting at a sensitive post have been totally ignored. We are amazed at the audacity of the then Hon’ble Forest Minister and Mr. Kishan Chand, DFO in giving a total go-bye to the statutory provisions. However, since the matter is pending investigation by the CBI, we do not propose to comment any further on the matter," the Court said.The CBI was asked to complete its probe effectively, and the State directed to initiate disciplinary proceedings against errant officials..The Court further stated that the illegal tree felling that had taken place in the park could not be ignored. As regards the Safaris, the Court directed,"The Safaris which are already existing and the one under construction at Pakhrau will not be disturbed. However, insofar as the Safari at ‘Pakhrau’ is concerned, we direct the State of Uttarakhand to relocate or establish a rescue centre in the vicinity of the ‘Tiger Safari’." The Court also ordered the constitution of a committee to restore the damages and quantify costs of restoration. "Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) shall constitute a committee of representative of NTCA, MoEF CEC officer not below rank of Joint Secretary and wildlife authority. They shall recommend measures to restore the damages and quantify costs of restoration. Identify officers who are liable and the cost shall be recovered from them. Cost to be exclusively used for restoration of damage," the Court further directed.It also requested ex-Director General of Forests & Special Secretary Chander Prakash Goyal and IFS officers Anup Malik and Samir Sinha to give their suggestions for more effective management of tiger reserves in India..The verdict came in a case regarding permissions for the planned Pakhro Tiger Safari project at the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand.The bench had in January told the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) that its plan to have a tiger safari on the lines of a zoo within the national park cannot be allowed. It called for an approach that is 'animal-centric', rather than 'tourism-centric', referring to NCTA guidelines providing for tiger safaris only in buffer and fringe areas of such reserves.The case arose out of a petition filed by environment activist and advocate Gaurav Bansal, challenging the Uttarakhand government’s proposal in this regard. As per the State's affidavit, Uttarakhand is home to 560 tigers with 260 at the Corbett Tiger Reserve that is spread across 1,288 square kilometres.The tiger safari proposed at Pakhrau was on a land of 106 hectares, which is about 0.082 per cent of the total area at the national park, and 0.22 per cent of the buffer area of the tiger reserve..Uttarakhand High Court orders CBI probe into felling of 6,000 trees and illegal construction for tiger safari in Corbett Tiger Reserve.Senior Advocate ANS Nadkarni appeared for the State of Uttarakhand. Advocate K Parameswar served as the Amicus Curiae. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati appeared for the NTCA.The National Green Tribunal had in November 2022 ordered that the Pakhro Tiger Safari project in Jim Corbett National Park be halted in view of the fact that around 6,000 trees were illegally cut for the project..[Read Judgment]