New Delhi: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) — a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) — has raised concern over the Supreme Court’s February 2023 order restraining authorities from making any construction within the areas notified as tiger reserves, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
In an affidavit filed before the apex court, the NTCA asked the court to clarify its order as it can have a bearing on the implementation of infrastructure projects of national and strategic importance.
Ban on construction undertaken in accordance of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, inside the forest area could also impact the progress of important welfare activities, such as providing drinking water, construction of roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, for tribals and marginalised communities, the NTCA said, even as it defended the construction of a zoo/tiger reserve in the buffer zone of Corbett Tiger Reserve.
Categorising it as a forest activity, the NTCA said zoos play a significant role in conservation, breeding and keeping of rescued, sick and injured animals. A zoo and safari on forest land will help visitors to sight different animals in near natural surroundings, providing them with an “absorbing and rewarding experience.”
A Supreme Court bench led by Justice B.R. Gavai had on 8 February put on hold construction activities within core areas of tiger reserves, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. The order came on a petition filed by advocate Gaurav Bansal who alleged illegal construction in tiger reserves and questioned the establishment of a tiger safari/zoo in the buffer area of Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand.
“Until further orders, we restrain the authorities from doing any construction within the core areas notified in tiger reserves, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries,” the bench said, asking the Centre and the NTCA to respond to the court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to review guidelines for setting up of zoos and safaris within tiger reserves and sanctuaries in order to discourage tourism in wildlife habitat.
In a report to the court, the CEC had also acknowledged the irregularities that were pointed out in Bansal’s petition and suggested that Uttarakhand be directed to dismantle all illegal structures constructed for the safari.
On Wednesday, the SC bench led by Justice Gavai adjourned the case after the Uttarakhand government took time to file a fresh response. In an earlier reply to Bansal’s petition, the state had conceded to lapses in the project and apprised the court about the action taken against errant officials indicted for the illegal felling of the trees in Corbett area.
Before postponing the hearing, the bench remarked: “We do not understand why you need a zoo inside a national park.”
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NTCA affidavit
Apart from recording its reservation, the NTCA also asked the court to specify whether the February order is applicable to all tiger reserves, national parks and sanctuaries or is it limited to Corbett Tiger Reserve only.
It said proposals for development activities within national parks, sanctuaries, tiger reserves, tiger corridors are received from the states and are then placed before the Standing Committee of the National board for Wild Life (SCNBWL) by the MoEFCC.
The SCNBWL, comprising eminent ecologists, conservationists and environmentalists, then takes decisions on the proposals before forwarding them to the SC-appointed CEC for approval.
As for the tiger safari in Corbett Tiger Reserve’s buffer zone, the NTCA admitted that during a field inspection last year, it spotted non-compliance of rules. Those executing the construction work were unable to show the original layout plan to the NTCA’s inspection committee and moreover, the team also learnt that the design structure did not have the prior approval from the Central Zoo Authority (CZA). (The CZA is a statutory body under the ministry which, according to its website, enforces “norms for upkeep and healthcare of animals in Indian zoos”).
This, the NTCA told the apex court, was in contravention to its guidelines under which the CZA’s approval is a precondition for the construction of a zoo/tiger safari.
The NTCA’s affidavit has, however, not touched upon SC-appointed CEC’s report alleging illegalities in tree felling and construction work in setting up the safari facility inside the Corbett reserve. It held Uttarakhand’s former forest minister Harak Singh Rawat “largely responsible for the mess” of illegal construction there.
It also blamed the NTCA for drafting a policy with “serious flaws” as it allows zoo tigers to be sources for safaris within such reserves.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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