BHUBANESWAR: In a big jolt to Odisha government’s tourism push, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed it to get clearance for Deomali eco-tourism structures from the Centre under Forest (Conservation) Act within three months or demolish them and restore the land to its original form.
Disposing of a petition challenging the legality of infrastructure developed on the eco-sensitive plateau and Odisha’s highest peak in Koraput district, the NGT’s Eastern Zone bench of Justice B Amit Sthalekar (Judicial member) and Arun Kumar Verma (Expert member) held that the constructions made under the guise of eco-tourism development violated forest conservation norms and lacked requisite permissions.
“If the required approval is not obtained within the stipulated time, the entire structures erected shall be removed, and the area shall be restored to its original form. In any case, no diversion of the land in question shall be made for non-forestry purposes and the respondents (state and the Centre) shall ensure strict compliance of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam 1980 read with the Forest Rights Act 2006,” the bench ruled.
The green panel also directed the government to maintain the pine plantation undertaken over an area of 1.5-2 hectares and make efforts to cover the entire 5.93 ha of the land in plantation.
Deomali, a hill top table land, located in the Eastern Ghats near Barabandha village, about 70 km from Koraput, is the highest peak in the state, standing at 1,672 metre (5,486 feet) above sea level.
The petitioner Wildlife Society of Orissa had alleged that the construction works at Deomali were against the principle of sustainable development. While 10 cottages for night stay of tourists have been constructed with provisions of a dining hall and two dormitories, the department has also planted about 1,000 tropical pine saplings brought from Assam for beautification of the landscape of the spot.
The Deomali project is included under the Centre’s Swadesh Darshan Scheme for development of infrastructure to boost tourism. The project is in addition to Rs 16 crore sanctioned by the Tourism department for integrated development of the hill.
Similarly, Semiliguda Forest Range has prepared a proposal for development of eco-tourism complex at an estimated cost of about Rs 4.5 crore, the petition stated.
Responding to the notices from the tribunal, Koraput DFO had filed an affidavit stating that the site where the eco tourism project is going on, does not fall within any notified forest block or recorded forest land as per the government records and it is not identified as ‘deemed forest’.
Petitioner counsel Sankar Prasad Pani submitted that the entire Semiliguda forest range project is spread over 10.4 ha (26 acres) of forest land and therefore any non-forest activity in the area requires prior approval under the Forest (Conservation) Act 1980. “If the land is not a notified forest and is devoid of trees and vegetation as is the stand taken, the DFO would have no role to issue tender notice for civil works,” he pointed out.
The NGT questioned, “If the stand of the state is to be accepted, the question arises as to why were village level meetings held for formation of Van Surakhya Samiti (VSS)? If the land in question was revenue land, the procedure as prescribed under the Forest Rights Act 2006 would have had no application or necessity.”