Editor's Pick | Trees in Corbett fell prey to greedy nexus, says Supreme Court

The felling of over 6,000 trees to construct buildings for “eco-tourism” at the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand is a “classic case” of nexus between politicians and officials to make short-term commercial gains at the cost of the environment, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday. The Court said it was “amazed at the audacity” of former Uttarakhand Forest Minister and Congress leader Harak Singh Rawat and ex-Divisional Forest Officer Kishan Chand for giving the forest and wildlife conservation laws a complete go-by and throwing the public trust doctrine “into the dustbin”. “The present case depicts a sorry state of affairs of human greed devastating one of the most celebrated abodes of tigers i.e. the Corbett Tiger Reserve,” a three-judge Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai observed. Uttarakhand could not “run away” from its responsibility to restore the forest, the bench added. The Court also directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to form a specialised committee to study and recommend whether tiger safaris should be permitted in the buffer or fringe areas of a tiger reserve. The proposed specialised committee of the Ministry would include representatives of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Wildlife Institute of India, Central Empowered Committee, and a Joint Secretary from the Ministry. “The presence of tigers in the forests is an indicator of the well-being of the ecosystem. Unless steps are taken for the protection of tigers, the ecosystem which revolves around tigers cannot be protected… Events like illegal construction and illicit felling of trees like the one in Corbett cannot be ignored,” Justice Gavai observed in the judgment. Existing safaris, like the one in Pakhro zone at Corbett, need not be disturbed, the Court said. At the same time, it also directed the Uttarakhand government to establish an animal rescue centre in the vicinity of the safari. The Hindu Editorials Free of guilt: On the exoneration of former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba and five others Slow and unsteady: On Tirukkoyilur and the pursuit of anti-corruption cases The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz What is the Presidential palace in Pakistan called? Mājlis-e-ShÅ«rā Jinnah House Aiwan-i-Sadr Qasr Al Watan To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 07 March 2024 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]Open in browser [Mail icon]More newsletters Trees in Corbett fell prey to greedy nexus, says Supreme Court The felling of over 6,000 trees to construct buildings for “eco-tourism” at the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand is a “classic case” of [nexus between politicians and officials to make short-term commercial gains at the cost of the environment]( the Supreme Court said on Wednesday. The Court said it was “amazed at the audacity” of former Uttarakhand Forest Minister and Congress leader Harak Singh Rawat and ex-Divisional Forest Officer Kishan Chand for giving the forest and wildlife conservation laws a complete go-by and throwing the public trust doctrine “into the dustbin”. “The present case depicts a sorry state of affairs of human greed devastating one of the most celebrated abodes of tigers i.e. the Corbett Tiger Reserve,” a three-judge Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai observed. Uttarakhand could not “run away” from its responsibility to restore the forest, the bench added. The Court also directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to form a specialised committee to study and recommend whether tiger safaris should be permitted in the buffer or fringe areas of a tiger reserve. The proposed specialised committee of the Ministry would include representatives of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Wildlife Institute of India, Central Empowered Committee, and a Joint Secretary from the Ministry. “The presence of tigers in the forests is an indicator of the well-being of the ecosystem. Unless steps are taken for the protection of tigers, the ecosystem which revolves around tigers cannot be protected… Events like illegal construction and illicit felling of trees like the one in Corbett cannot be ignored,” Justice Gavai observed in the judgment. Existing safaris, like the one in Pakhro zone at Corbett, need not be disturbed, the Court said. At the same time, it also directed the Uttarakhand government to establish an animal rescue centre in the vicinity of the safari. The Hindu Editorials [Arrow][Free of guilt: On the exoneration of former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba and five others]( [Arrow][Slow and unsteady: On Tirukkoyilur and the pursuit of anti-corruption cases]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz What is the Presidential palace in Pakistan called? - Mājlis-e-ShÅ«rā - Jinnah House - Aiwan-i-Sadr - Qasr Al Watan To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here]( [Sign up for free]( Today’s Best Reads [[Electoral bonds disclosure | Contempt plea moved against SBI for not disclosing details yet] Electoral bonds disclosure | Contempt plea moved against SBI for not disclosing details yet]( [[Delhi court directs CM Arvind Kejriwal to physically appear on March 16] Delhi court directs CM Arvind Kejriwal to physically appear on March 16]( [[Talks only way to bring peace in Manipur: Kiren Rijiju] Talks only way to bring peace in Manipur: Kiren Rijiju]( [[BJD, BJP hold parallel meetings over tie-up] BJD, BJP hold parallel meetings over tie-up]( Copyright© 2024, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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