New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to provide an interim report on the Tiger Safari case in the Pakharo range of Jim Corbett National Park.
"The apex court has also directed whether the Safari can be in the buffer area or not. SC further said that as far as the concept of Safari in the Tiger Reserve is concerned, a committee will be constituted to look into this and they will impose the conditions," said Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal.
"The Supreme Court has also said that money will be recovered from all those who were involved in all the illegalities. That amount will be used for the restoration of ecology, and the wildlife habitat of that area," Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal added further.
On September 23, 2023, the CBI started an investigation into the Tiger Safari case in the Pakharo range of Jim Corbett National Park.
The CBI investigated the Corbett Park case on the instructions of Nainital High Court. In this case, the CBI interrogated about a dozen forest officers, employees and contractors working in the range, including three retired Principal Chief Conservators of Forests (PCCF) and one current PCCF related to the Pakhro safari case.
The main focus point of CBI's inquiry was the then Forest Minister Harak Singh Rawat because vigilance and other investigations have revealed that under the pressure of Harak Singh, work was started in Corbett Tiger Safari without taking financial and other approvals.
Before that, the Uttarakhand High Court took a strict stand in the case of the felling of six thousand trees and illegal construction in the world-famous Jim Corbett Park. The High Court had asked the government why a CBI inquiry should not be conducted into the matter.
It has been reported that between 2017 and 2022, trees were cut in Jim Corbett for the construction work of Tiger Safari and other tourist facilities. Boundary walls and buildings were also constructed in the National Park. Harak Singh Rawat was the Forest Minister of the state in 2017.
While hearing the PIL filed by Dehradun resident Anu Pant, the bench questioned the government. The petitioner told the court that several reports regarding the felling of 6,000 trees in Corbett were placed before the court. All these reports were shown to the court in detail by the petitioner's advocate Abhijay Negi. (ANI)
