Uttarakhand: NTCA seeks report on illegal construction in Corbett Tiger Reserve

In its letter dated September 6, the NTCA pointed out that it had written to the department on August 12 as well but the report has not been submitted. The letter urged the state forest department to get the matter investigated immediately

Published on: Sep 8, 2021, 16:37:24 IST

By Neeraj Santoshi

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National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has again written to chief wildlife warden, Uttarakhand, to investigate the allegations of tree felling, illegal construction of bridges and walls in Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) and submit a factual report in the matter.

Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand. (HT archive)

In its letter dated September 6, the NTCA pointed out that it had written to the department on August 12 as well but the report has not been submitted. The letter urged the state forest department to get the matter investigated immediately.

Last month, wildlife activist and Supreme Court advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal sent a legal notice to NTCA member secretary. Bansal alleged flagrant violations of the Wildlife Protection Act and Forest Conservation Act in CTR. His legal notice alleged that illegal construction of bridges and wall was being done in Corbett near Kalagarh Forest Rest House.

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JS Suhag, chief wildlife warden Uttarakhand said CTR field director has constituted a fact-finding committee in the matter to visit the areas mentioned in the allegations. “Based on the report of this committee, the factual report will be sent to NTCA”, he said.

Bansal said within Kalagarh and Pakhro area of CTR, forest officials were illegally constructing bridges. “Near Kalagarh Forest Rest House, Uttarakhand forest department is not only illegally allowing construction of around four bridges, it is also constructing high wall at the boundary of CTR,” he said.

Bansal said he also came to know that all the construction material except cement was being sourced from CTR, resulting in illegal mining of natural resources.

He also approached the Delhi high court in the matter. In its August 23 order, the high court directed the NTCA to treat the petition as a representation and look into the issues flagged by Bansal.

CTR director Rahul (who goes by his first name) also wrote to DFO Kalagarh forest division in July this year, seeking details of constructions or renovations between Kalagarh and Pakhro.

CTR, which is spread across 1,288 square km, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state. It opens for tourists on November 15 every year for six months, till mid-June. There are 231 tigers inside CTR and 266 using the reserve, according to the latest report on tigers. This is the highest number of tigers across 50 tiger reserves in India.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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