the declining tiger population in India, the Supreme Court on Tuesday banned tourism activity in the core areas of tiger reserves across the country.
“Why should tourism be permitted in core areas? Whatever statistics may say, fact remains that the tiger
population in the country has practically diminished,” observed an SC bench, while warning of contempt proceedings and imposition of exemplary costs against chief secretaries of five states if they failed to notify core zones in their respective tiger reserves.
Slamming the “failure” of states to segregate core and buffer (peripheral) areas in their reserves, the court ordered that the core areas be kept out of bounds for tourists till it finalises guidelines for such protected areas. Tourists can now enter only the buffer or fringe areas.
India has approximately 1,700 tigers left.
The bench pointed to the gravity of the situation, saying, “The effect we can see is that tigers are virtually on the verge of extinction. You will only have statistics to count upon.” It came down hard on Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra for delaying notification demarcating core and buffer zones under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The core area is the central part of a reserve and should have minimal human disturbance. The buffer zone usually constitutes fringe areas up to a distance of 10 km from the core.
“Whatever may the statistics or data… the fact of the matter is that tigers are on the verge of extinction… till final directions are issued by this court with respect to the guidelines by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the core areas in tiger reserves will not be used for tourism,” said a Bench of Justices Swatanter Kumar and Ibrahim Kalifulla.
Accepting the suggestion by amicus curiae Raj Panjwani, the court made it clear that it will vet the guidelines and propose a framework, which the Centre will notify. The court was hearing a PIL by conservationist Ajay Dubey.
the Supreme Court had directed 10 states to notify the buffer areas. It noted today that Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh had failed to file their affidavits. It gave the states three weeks to file their affidavits.
The apex court was also furious that several states despite its earlier directions of April 4 and July 10 had failed to notify the buffer zones in their respective reserves and warned that if they failed to comply within three weeks the defaulting states shall be saddled with a cost of Rs.50,000 each, recoverable from the Principal Secretary, Forest of the state concerned.
–Siasat news