An Assam-based environment activist has drawn the attention of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to the violation of tiger reserve guidelines by the local authorities in Manas National Park.
The 500 sq. km Manas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles Assam and Bhutan, is about 140 km west of Guwahati.
In a letter to the additional director-general of forests (Project Tiger) and member-secretary of the NTCA, activist Rohit Choudhury said a ₹5.6-crore tourist facility had come up in the core or critical tiger habitat of the national park. Work on the eight-room project in the park’s Mothanguri area was started by the Bodoland Territorial Council in 2017.
This was a blatant violation of the NTCA (Normative Standards for Tourism and Project Tiger) Guidelines, 2012. These guidelines, aimed at phasing out of night stay tourism from the core areas of tiger reserves, state that no new tourism structure should be constructed in critical tiger habitat of reserves, he pointed out.
Citing documents he received via Right to Information, Mr. Choudhury said the tourist facility also went against the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 and the directives of the Supreme Court.
The top court said in July 2018 that forest rest houses or inspection bungalows were facilities created for the camping of forest officers primarily to discharge their duties connected with conservation, protection and management of forests and wildlife, which clearly implied that such facilities could not be used for tourism purposes, especially night stays.
“While operations at this facility are yet to commence, any further action for the intended purpose of the building would cumulatively add to non-conformity with the law in place,” he said.
Requesting a probe by the NTCA into the Mothanguri tourist facility, the activist also sought an investigation into the financial anomalies by the officials of the Assam Forest Department, as ₹5.6-crore was too high an amount for an eight-room guesthouse.
