The new stringent draft guidelines issued by the Centre for development of eco-tourism in the states has forced the Kiran Kumar government to rework its strategies. The state-level steering committee is now mulling framing new guidelines and ensure that the ongoing projects fall in line.
According to a report in TOI, the wake-up call for the state government was the Union government's recent withdrawal of permission for development of eco-tourism at Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy botanical garden at Kothaguda near Hi-Tec City, Madhapur. It was an ambitious project where a hotel, a multiplex and a convention centre were to come up in a reserve forest area of Hyderabad under the garb of promoting eco-tourism.
The Union ministry of environment had expressed its shock that the project included construction of a hotel with about 400 rooms, a convention hall with seating capacity of 2500 people, multi-level parking for 5000 vehicles at an estimated cost of Rs 39 crore which was in gross violation of the guidelines.
The new guidelines lays specific restrictions on buildings and infrastructure not only within the forest area but also in proximity to core areas like tiger habitats, national parks and sanctuaries. In recent years, there has been mushrooming of tourist facilities around the protected areas which has led to exploitation and misuse of the fragile eco-systems.
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