The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has asked the Assam government to take action on a tourist facility being constructed in the heart of the Manas National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a tiger reserve.
The NTCA, in a letter to the state Chief Secretary, said that an Assam-based environment activist Rohit Choudhury had drawn the attention to the Rs 5.6 crore tourist facility was sanctioned by the Bodoland Territorial Council.
The NTCA said that the eight-room resort, which is nearing completion, was in violation of the NTCA (Normative Standards for Tourism and Project Tiger) Guidelines, 2012.
“…it is requested that appropriate action in the said matter may please be initiated immediately and instructions may be issued for furnishing the factual status/action taken to this authority within a week’s time,” said the letter from Md Sajid Sultan, the tiger authority’s Assistant Inspector General of Forest.
Choudhury said that tourist facility went against the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 and the directives of the Supreme Court. He also furnished documents he received via Right to Information.
In July 2018, the apex court had said 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.
The NTCA guidelines aims at phasing out night stay tourism from the core areas of tiger reserves and prohibiting the construction of new tourism structures in critical tiger habitat of such reserves.
