New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the setting up of a committee to look into whether tiger safaris can be permitted at buffer or fringe areas of the national parks in the country.
The apex court also slammed former Uttarakhand forest minister Harak Singh Rawat and the then divisional forest officer (DFO) Kishan Chand for causing havoc to Corbett Tiger Reserve by allowing illegal construction and felling of trees.
A three-judge bench led by Justice B R Gavai, setting up a committee, said all existing safaris will also be amenable to the approval of the committee concerned. On the aspect of felling of trees, the apex court said it is amazed by the audacity of the minister and DFO.
The apex court directed the CBI, which is already probing the case in relation to the damage caused due to illegal construction and felling of trees in the Corbett Tiger Reserve, to submit its report within three months. The apex court directed the state government to ensure restoration of forest.
The apex court said in the present case it is clear beyond doubt that the then forest minister had himself beyond law and it shows how DFO had thrown the public trust doctrine to the wind, and this shows how politicians and bureaucrats take law into their own.
The apex court said the unholy political-bureaucrat nexus caused heavy damage to forest and environment and said the state must estimate the cost of damage and recover it from those guilty of causing damage to ecology. Detailed judgment will be uploaded later in the day.
The apex court’s judgment came on a petition filed by activist and advocate Gaurav Bansal, challenging the Uttarakhand government’s proposal to have a tiger safari, a specialised zoo with caged animals, at the national park. Advocate K Parmeshwar was the amicus curiae in the case.
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