Uttarakhand High Court orders CBI probe into felling of 6,000 trees and illegal construction for tiger safari in Corbett Tiger Reserve

The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate allegations of illegal construction in the Corbett Tiger Reserve and the alleged felling of nearly 6,000 trees for building a tiger safari..A division bench of Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Alok Kumar Verma noted that there were serious allegations against the higher authorities of the State (including former forest minister Harak Singh Rawat) and, therefore, the Court could not remain a mere spectator..The Court also opined that merely suspending some officers would not be sufficient.It, therefore, ordered all the State authorities to cooperate with a CBI probe into the matter. "We are satisfied that the material on record does disclose a prima facie case calling for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Therefore, the present matter is referred to CBI for proper and uninfluenced investigation in accordance with law,” the Court ordered..The order was passed while dealing with a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) petition initiated by the Court as well as a plea filed by a Dehradun resident, Anu Pant..The Court was told that construction works of administrative buildings, internal roads, service roads, guard huts, and animal holding areas were being undertaken without any administrative and financial approval in the sensitive areas of Corbett.Though the authorities initially said that only 163 trees were cut for the purpose, reports later revealed that nearly 6,000 trees were felled.Several inquiries were made to investigate the role of the officials and the alleged violation of laws. However, the Court noted that no serious action was taken against the erring officials. .Meanwhile, a report by a Central Empowered Committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal alleged that the then forest minister, Harak Singh Rawat, was instrumental in the planning and execution of illegal constructions and unauthorised buildings in the tiger reserve. The report also named the then Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Kishan Chand.The report alleged that Kishan Chan had a dubious past of committing similar irregularities and that he was hand-picked by the minister. The minister allegedly ignored the opinions of the State vigilance department, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Head of Forest Force (HoFF) advising him not to post Kishan Chand at sensitive posts, the Court was further told. .Advocate Abhijay Negi appeared for the petitioner, Anu Pant.The State of Uttarakhand was represented through Special Counsel Atul Sharma, Additional Chief Standing Counsel Rajeev Singh Bisht and Standing Counsel Gajendra Tripathi.The Union of India was represented through its Standing Counsel VK Kapruwan..[Read Judgement]