{"id":73944,"date":"2025-11-18T10:59:37","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T05:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=73944"},"modified":"2025-11-18T13:35:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T08:05:33","slug":"tiger-safari-restrictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/tiger-safari-restrictions\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Restricts Tiger Safari to Non-Forest Land"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Tiger Safari Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a landmark ruling aimed at preserving India\u2019s tiger habitats, the Supreme Court has issued sweeping directions to curb ecological damage in tiger reserves.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Background of the Case<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ruling stems from a <\/span><b>suo motu intervention<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by the Supreme Court after reports of <\/span><b>unauthorised tree felling, illegal construction, and misuse of funds<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> surfaced within the <\/span><b>Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An expert committee appointed by the Court investigated the violations and proposed detailed recommendations for ecological restoration.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Accepting the committee\u2019s findings, the Court noted that tiger tourism, while valuable for public awareness, has often devolved into <\/span><b>\u201cmass commercial tourism\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> detrimental to wildlife and forest ecosystems.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The judgment seeks to strike a balance between <\/span><b>ecotourism, local livelihoods, and biodiversity protection<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Key Directives of the Supreme Court<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Tiger Safaris Only in Non-Forest Areas<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court categorically prohibited tiger safaris inside <\/span><b>core or critical tiger habitats<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, directing that they may only be established on <\/span><b>non-forest or degraded forest land<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> within buffer zones.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Further, such safaris must operate <\/span><b>in association with a fully functional rescue and rehabilitation centre<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for tigers, catering to <\/span><b>conflict animals, injured, or abandoned wildlife<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Complete Ban on Night Tourism and Mobile Use<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recognising the disturbance caused by human activity and noise pollution, the Court imposed a <\/span><b>complete ban on night tourism<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> within tiger reserves.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In areas where roads pass through core tiger habitats, the Court ordered <\/span><b>strict night-time regulation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, prohibiting vehicular movement <\/span><b>from dusk to dawn<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, except for <\/span><b>emergency or ambulance services<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additionally, it directed that the <\/span><b>use of mobile phones<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> within tourism zones of core habitats be strictly prohibited to minimise noise and human interference.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Eco-Sensitive Zone Norms for Tiger Reserves<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court directed that <\/span><b>Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> around tiger reserves must conform to the <\/span><b>Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&amp;CC)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> norms.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under this, the <\/span><b>minimum ESZ area<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> shall be equivalent to the <\/span><b>buffer or fringe area<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the tiger reserve. States were instructed to <\/span><b>notify ESZ boundaries within one year<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, ensuring uniform protection standards nationwide.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Regulation of Tourism Infrastructure in Buffer Zones<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The judgment mandates that all <\/span><b>tourism infrastructure development<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in buffer areas comply with <\/span><b>ESZ notifications under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While <\/span><b>eco-friendly resorts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> may be allowed in buffer areas, the Court emphasised that <\/span><b>no such establishment shall be permitted in tiger corridors<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It further recommended promoting <\/span><b>community-managed homestays<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>village-based ecotourism<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, thereby ensuring that conservation efforts benefit local populations.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ban on Commercial and Industrial Activities<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court imposed a comprehensive ban on ecologically harmful activities in <\/span><b>buffer and fringe areas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Commercial mining and polluting industries,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sawmills and hydroelectric projects,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Firewood extraction and tree felling without authorisation,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Waste discharge into natural ecosystems,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use of low-flying aircraft or tourism flights, and<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Introduction of exotic species.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These restrictions align with the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wildlife-protection-act\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and India\u2019s commitments under the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/convention-on-biological-diversity\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Convention on Biological Diversity<\/b><\/a><b> (CBD)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Directions to States and Tiger Conservation Authorities<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court instructed all <\/span><b>State Governments<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Prepare or revise the Tiger Conservation Plans<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> within three months.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Notify core and buffer areas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> within six months.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Establish effective monitoring systems to ensure compliance with the ruling.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also directed the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/national-tiger-conservation-authority-ntca\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>National Tiger Conservation Authority<\/b><\/a><b> (NTCA)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to serve as the nodal agency for enforcing these directions and conducting <\/span><b>annual ecological audits<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of tiger reserves.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The NTCA and MoEF&amp;CC were further asked to submit a <\/span><b>joint compliance report<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> within one year, detailing progress in implementing the Court\u2019s directives.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Significance of the Judgment<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This verdict reinforces the principle of <\/span><b>\u201cecocentric jurisprudence\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which prioritises the intrinsic value of nature over anthropocentric interests.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By imposing strict limits on tourism and infrastructure expansion, the Court has sought to <\/span><b>reverse the trend of ecological degradation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> within protected areas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also aligns with India\u2019s broader conservation goals under <\/span><b>Project Tiger (1973)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which has helped increase the national tiger population to <\/span><b>3,682 as per the 2024 census<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a global success story.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, by encouraging <\/span><b>community-based tourism<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>homestays<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the judgment ensures that local economies remain linked to conservation rather than exploitation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/supreme-court-judgment-makes-uttarakhand-liable-to-restore-repair-corbett-tiger-reserve\/article70289755.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/legal-news\/tiger-safari-on-non-forest-land-no-night-tourism-supreme-court-10371515\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Supreme Court has ruled that tiger safari will only be allowed on non-forest or degraded forest land in buffer areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":73954,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,3755,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-73944","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-mains-articles","9":"tag-tiger-safari","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}