DEHRADUN: A Supreme Court constituted committee has directed the Uttarakhand state forest department to submit reply about allegations pertaining to illegal felling of trees, illegal construction of buildings and water bodies in Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) landscape.
A practising advocate alleged 163 thousand trees have been felled in the protected sanctuary.
Earlier this month, Central Zoo Authority (CZA) had issued notice to the chief wildlife warden of Uttarakhand on the issue of illegal tree cutting in Kalagarh forest division in the name of establishment of Pakhrau tiger safari.
The CZA issued the said notice on the legal issued by Gaurav Kumar Bansal, a practising advocate of the Supreme Court and a wild life activist, wherein he has requested the CZA & NTCA to withdraw their approval for establishment of the tiger safari in Pakhrau forest division.
In the notice, Bansal has stated that Forest Advisory Committee, MoEFCC, Govt of India recommended the said proposal only after the written assurance from Uttarakhand forest dept fficials that only 163 trees will be felled for the establishment of the safari.
Bansal has also pointed out the letter written by the director of the CTR wherein he has also called for a report from DFO Kalagarh regarding illegal felling of trees in the name of establishment of the safari.
The director of CTR in the letter dated July 6, 2021 raised the issue of illegal felling of the trees within the jurisdiction of DFO, Kalagarh.
Earlier, the National Tiger Conservation Authority had sought factual status report from the state forest department on the issue of opening of tourism in a critical tiger habitat of Rajaji Tiger Reserve.
The letter addressed to the chief wildlife warden of Uttarakhand dated September 7, 2021 states, "Kindly share the factual status report about the same through registered post."
This comes after Gaurav Kumar Bansal sent a legal notice to the NTCA on the issue citing serious violations of laws and endangering the national animal as well as other wildlife.