The Supreme Court has directed the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), under the ministry of environment and forests(MoEF), to submit final guidelines related to tourism in core area by July 10, the date for final hearing.
The directions came from a double bench of Justice Dalbir Bhandari and Justice Deepak Mishra on a petition filed by Bhopal-based environment protection NGO Prayatna, which is demanding ban on tourism in core areas of tiger reserves.
SR Gupta, counsel for Ajay Dubey, secretary of Prayatna, told the court that amended Wildlife Protection Act has made provision for 'core and buffer'. Core needs to be kept inviolate from humans while tourism should be shifted to buffer areas of tiger reserves.
Counsel for MoEF Wasim Kadri informed the court that NTCA has set up a committee to frame detailed tourism guidelines in protected areas (PAs).
On the issue, the apex court asked the MoEF to come out with clear-cut guidelines and directions on how tourism can be monitored in core areas. It also asked all the states to notify buffers around tiger reserves in three months.
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