The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed an order of Jim Corbett National Park authorities to allow buses of a private operator to ply within the core area of the tiger reserve in Uttarakhand.
A Bench led by Chief Justice Sharad A. Bobde issued notice to the Centre, Uttarakhand, the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the National Board of Wildlife and officials of the Jim Corbett National Park and sought their responses.
Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, who filed the petition, submitted that the decision of the Jim Corbett National Park was in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act.
He alleged that forest officials, to provide wrongful gain to a private sector company, allowed it to ply its private buses within the core area of the tiger reserve.
“Director, Corbett Tiger Reserve, on December 23, 2020, allowed buses of a private sector company to ply within the core area of Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand,” the petition said.
Mr. Bansal referred to Section 38 (O) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which provides that “tiger reserves shall not be diverted for ecologically unsustainable uses, and in case it is required, then it is mandatory for State of Uttarakhand and its Forest Department officials to do the same only after taking approval from the National Board for Wildlife and on the advice of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.”
