New Delhi: Amid protests by Jains over Sammed Shikharji — a holy shrine of the community in Jharkhand — being designated an ecotourism destination, the central government stepped in Thursday with an order stopping all “tourism and ecotourism” activities on the Parasnath Hills, where the shrine is located.
The Jain community had been protesting against the state government’s decision, fearing it would result in commercialisation and destroy the sanctity of one of their holiest shrines, where 20 of the 24 Jain tirthankaras are believed to have attained salvation.
The office memorandum issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC) Thursday directed the state government to immediately take all steps necessary to strictly enforce the relevant provisions of the Management Plan of the Parasnath Wildlife Sanctuary.
The plan specifically prohibits “damage to flora or fauna; coming with pet animals; playing loud music or use loudspeakers; defiling sites of religious and cultural significance such as sacred monuments, lakes, rocks, caves, and shrines; and sale of liquor, drugs, and other intoxicants etc; unauthorised camping and trekking etc” on the Parasnath Hills.
The order has also directed the state government to strictly enforce the ban on the sale and consumption of liquor and non-vegetarian food items on the Parasnath Hills.
Sammed Shikhar falls in the eco-sensitive zone of Parasnath Wildlife Sanctuary and Topchanchi Wildlife Sanctuary. The central government’s intervention came hours after Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren wrote to Union environment minister Bhupendra Yadav seeking appropriate directions on the eco-sensitive zone notification issued by the Union environment ministry on 2 August 2019.
As protests flared up, Yadav had written to the state government earlier this week, asking it to “recommend necessary modifications for further needful action”.
“Sammed Shikharji Parvat Kshetra is the world’s most sacred and revered Teerth Sthan of Jain dharma. The government recognises its sanctity and significance for the Jain community as well as the nation at large; and reiterates its commitment towards maintaining the same,” the office memorandum issued by the MoEFCC states.
Besides this, the central government has also constituted a monitoring committee for effective monitoring of the eco-sensitive zone. As permanent invitees, the committee will have two members from the Jain community and another from the local tribal community.
While the state government decision to convert the Sammed Shikharji Parvat Kshetra into a tourist centre was the immediate trigger, resentment has been brewing among Jains for longer. In November, a Jain shrine in the Shatrunjaya Hills in Gujarat was vandalised, at a time when commercialisation and mining in the Shatrunjaya Hills had already upset the community.
Soon after the ministry’s order, Yadav tweeted, “There is a list of prohibited activities that can’t take place in and around the designated eco-sensitive area. Restrictions will be followed in letter and spirit.”
Earlier in the day, Yadav also met Jain community members who urged him to protect the sanctity of Sammed Shikhar.
“Assured them that PM Shri @narendramodi ji’s government is committed to preserving and protecting the rights of Jain community over all their religious sites, including Sammed Shikhar,” Yadav had tweeted after the meeting.
The Jharkhand government led by Soren had in 2021 brought the state’s tourism policy declaring Parasnath Hills an “ecotourism” area. The Jain community opposed the move. Initially after the protests broke out, the Jharkhand government had taken a stand that the original notification related to the eco-sensitive zone was issued by the Union government in 2019 and it’s the latter that has to modify it.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
Also read: AAP revamps Gujarat unit after crushing poll loss, names former CM face Isudan Gadvi as chief