Former Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat and a former divisional forest officer were pulled up by the Supreme Court on Wednesday for allowing illegal construction and tree felling in Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR), observing that the doctrine of public trust had been discarded.
According to an apex court bench led by Justice B R Gavai, it was astonished by Rawat’s audacity in giving statutory provisions a total go by, who served as the forest minister in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 2021 and is now with the Congress.
”Since the matter is pending investigation by the CBI, we do not propose to comment any further on the matter. We have also observed that this cannot be done by two persons only. Many other persons must have been involved,” the bench, also comprising Justices P K Mishra and Sandeep Mehta, said.
An order by the apex court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is already investigating the case, to file its status report within three months.
”This is a case where bureaucrats and politicians have thrown public trust doctrine in the waste bin,” it added.
As a result of the illegal construction of the Pakhro Tiger Safari and the illegal felling of thousands of trees, the court rendered a judgment on a petition filed by environmental activist and lawyer Gaurav Bansal alleging destruction of tiger habitat and a decline in tiger density within the Lansdowne Forest Division.
”They (Rawat and Chand) have, in blatant disregard of the law and for commercial purposes, indulged in mass felling of trees to construct buildings on the pretext of promotion of tourism,” the bench said, adding that the state cannot run away from the responsibility of restoring the status of the forest.
The court was surprised by Rawat and Chand’s audacity in ignoring statutory provisions.
A committee was also established to examine whether tiger safaris could be conducted in the buffer or fringe areas of national parks.
In the Kalagarh Forest Division of the CTR, the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court had previously found Rawat and Chand responsible for several illegal activities, including the construction of a tiger safari in 2021, in the Pakhro and Morghatti forest areas.
The committee found Rawat and Chand responsible for construction activities related to the tiger safari and other illegal projects in the Pakhro and Morghatti forests in a report it submitted to the apex court.
A green light had also been given to the Uttarakhand Vigilance Department to pursue legal action against the forest officials involved in the irregularities.
Although the media reported all types of disturbances in Pakhro and Morghatti, the then chief wildlife warden and the state government failed to take action against the culprits.
In connection with illegal construction in the tiger reserve, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had previously raided the residences of Rawat and Chand.
During monsoon season, the CTR remains closed to tourists. It reopens between October and November.
The reserve covers an area of 1,288.31 square kilometers and is known for its biodiversity and high density of tigers.
Before the party expelled him ahead of the state assembly elections in 2022, Rawat served as the forest minister in the BJP government in Uttarakhand from 2021 to that time.
