Man, animal can coexist: SC
17 Oct 2012 2:55 AM GMT
The Supreme Court gave its nod on resumption of tourism in tiger reserves on Tuesday after being informed about the central government notifying fresh guidelines on tiger conservation. It had banned tourism in these areas in its 24 July order while hearing a public-interest litigation [PIL], which had demanded the removal of commercial tourism activities from core or critical tiger habitats in tiger reserves.
A bench of the justices A K Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar, while lifting the interim ban, however, said, 'We make it clear that we have not held the guidelines either intra-vires [constitutionally valid] or ultra-vires [unconstitutional].'
The court said that the tourism activities in the tiger reserve areas henceforth would be held strictly in accordance with the notification on tiger conservation, issued by the National Tiger Conservation Authority on 15 October. The court also directed the state governments to prepare the tiger conservation plan within six months and submit it to the Tiger Conservation Authority.
The wildlife activists welcomed the court judgement. The environmentalist Mike Pandey, while talking to Millennium Post, said, 'This is a very welcome order. We are grown-up citizens, and we can preserve tigers. There was certainly a need for the Supreme Court intervention on the issue for proper management and control on tiger tourism. The public should also stop overcrowding the reserves. If things are managed properly, tourism will keep generating revenue.'
Bittu Sahgal, the editor of Sanctuary Asia, said, 'The Supreme Court ban on visitation inside India's finest wildlife parks has been lifted and this will be good for wildlife! But only if the tourism trade finally wakes to the inevitable and begins to behave more responsibly and also starts to share revenues with local communities AND the tiger.'
In the new set of guidelines, the government has said that it has been stipulated that no new tourism infrastructure will be created and a maximum of 20 per cent of the core/critical tiger habitat usage [not exceeding the present usage] may be permitted for regulated, low-impact tourist visitation. The guidelines say that permanent tourist facilities located inside core/critical tiger habitats, which are being used for wildlife tourism, should be phased out as per a time frame, keeping visitors at a distance of at least 20 metres from all forms of wildlife and prohibiting them from luring or feeding any wildlife. The states have to notify the list of core and buffer areas of tiger reserves.
A bench of the justices A K Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar, while lifting the interim ban, however, said, 'We make it clear that we have not held the guidelines either intra-vires [constitutionally valid] or ultra-vires [unconstitutional].'
The court said that the tourism activities in the tiger reserve areas henceforth would be held strictly in accordance with the notification on tiger conservation, issued by the National Tiger Conservation Authority on 15 October. The court also directed the state governments to prepare the tiger conservation plan within six months and submit it to the Tiger Conservation Authority.
The wildlife activists welcomed the court judgement. The environmentalist Mike Pandey, while talking to Millennium Post, said, 'This is a very welcome order. We are grown-up citizens, and we can preserve tigers. There was certainly a need for the Supreme Court intervention on the issue for proper management and control on tiger tourism. The public should also stop overcrowding the reserves. If things are managed properly, tourism will keep generating revenue.'
Bittu Sahgal, the editor of Sanctuary Asia, said, 'The Supreme Court ban on visitation inside India's finest wildlife parks has been lifted and this will be good for wildlife! But only if the tourism trade finally wakes to the inevitable and begins to behave more responsibly and also starts to share revenues with local communities AND the tiger.'
In the new set of guidelines, the government has said that it has been stipulated that no new tourism infrastructure will be created and a maximum of 20 per cent of the core/critical tiger habitat usage [not exceeding the present usage] may be permitted for regulated, low-impact tourist visitation. The guidelines say that permanent tourist facilities located inside core/critical tiger habitats, which are being used for wildlife tourism, should be phased out as per a time frame, keeping visitors at a distance of at least 20 metres from all forms of wildlife and prohibiting them from luring or feeding any wildlife. The states have to notify the list of core and buffer areas of tiger reserves.
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