Tiger Safari Banned in Jim Corbett

• 08 Mar 2024

Why in News?

Recently, the Supreme Court reprimanded the Uttarakhand government for its involvement in the felling of trees and unauthorised construction activities within the Jim Corbett National Park.

Key Points

• According to the Supreme Court a committee will look into whether tiger safaris can be permitted in buffer or fringe areas of national parks in the country.
• The apex court also directed the Centre to establish a committee tasked with proposing measures to alleviate the environmental damage caused and to seek reimbursement from those accountable.
• The Supreme Court pulled up the government over unprecedented felling of trees and environmental damage in the Tiger reserve. It has asked for a status report on illegal construction, felling of trees in Corbett within three months.
• Earlier in January, the Supreme Court had dismissed the National Tiger Conservation Authority's (NTCA) proposal to establish a tiger safari within national parks, emphasizing the need for an "animal-centric" approach over a "tourism-centric" one.
• The Court's stance underscores the importance of prioritizing the welfare and conservation of wildlife within national parks, reaffirming the principle of maintaining natural habitats for animals over tourist attractions.

Jim Corbett National Park

• It is located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand. The Project Tiger was launched in 1973 in Corbett National Park (first National Park of India), which is part of Corbett Tiger Reserve.
  • The national park was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park to protect the endangered Bengal tiger.
  • It is named after Jim Corbett who played a key role in its establishment.
• The core area forms the Corbett National Park while the buffer contains reserve forests as well as the Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary.
• The entire area of the reserve is mountainous and falls in the Shivalik and Outer Himalaya geological provinces.
• Ramganga, Sonanadi, Mandal, Palain and Kosi are the major rivers flowing through the Reserve.
• Sprawling over 500 square kilometres, CTR is home to 230 tigers and has the world’s highest tiger density — at 14 tigers per hundred square kilometres.

National Tiger Conservation Authority's (NTCA)

• National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
• It was established in 2005 following the recommendations of the Tiger Task Force.
• It was constituted under enabling provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006, for strengthening tiger conservation, as per powers and functions assigned to it.