With the season of festivals and holidays drawing near, the Supreme Court on Tuesday served some good news for wildlife enthusiasts by indicating that it would lift the two-and-a-half month old ban on tourism in core areas of tiger reserves next week.

After additional solicitor general Indira Jaising informed that National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) would notify new guidelines permitting regulated tourism in core areas within a week, the court fixed further hearing on October 16 and said on that day, it would "modify or vacate" its July 24 interim ban order.

A bench of Justices A K Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar realized that the court could not have passed the July 24 order on a special leave petition challenging an interim order of Madhya Pradesh High Court and said, "The Supreme Court could not in these proceedings either put a stamp of approval on the NTCA guidelines or quash them."

After the interim ban, the NTCA revisited its guidelines on tiger reserve management, made a U-turn, and framed fresh guidelines giving importance to public participation in efforts to conserve tigers and recommended limited tourism in 20% of core areas under strict supervision of forest officials.

Given the legal status of the guidelines framed by NTCA under its statutory obligations, the bench said, "NTCA may therefore issue the formal notification notifying the comprehensive guidelines in accordance with the Wildlife Conservation Act.

The additional solicitor general appearing for the NTCA submits that the requisite notification will be issued within a week. List the matter for further hearing on Tuesday, October 16, for consideration of the prayer for vacating/modifying the interim order."

 The SC's July 24 interim order banning tourism in core areas of tiger reserves had cut off access to popular tourist destinations like Dhikala in Corbett National Park.

It had brought politicians and environmentalists together in citing the importance of tourism in core areas for protecting the endangered big cat from poachers. What the court was concerned about was rampant commercialization of buffer and core areas of tiger reserves without proper demarcation of these two important areas in protected forests.

Its interim ban had shaken the NTCA to shed its lethargy and consult stakeholders before framing fresh guidelines on a war footing. On July 9, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) had filed the 'Guidelines for Ecotourism in and around Protected Areas' in the apex court and said, "Any core area in tiger reserves from which relocation has been carried out will not be used for tourism activities."

The guidelines were based on key recommendations of the Tiger Task Force (2005) and were in sync with Section 38(v) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (as amended in 2006), which defined core/critical wildlife habitats as such areas that needed to be kept inviolate for tiger conservation without affecting the rights of Scheduled Tribes or forest dwellers.

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