NGT warns MP govt, sets Oct 31 deadline for SOP on Bandhavgarh pilgrim rush
National Green Tribunal
(NGT), Central Zone Bench, has pulled up state authorities over permission granted for the annual Darshan Yatra in the core area of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, warning that such mass gatherings could irreparably damage the fragile ecosystem.
Hearing a plea filed by green activist Ajay Shankar Dubey, the bench of justice Sheo Kumar Singh and expert member Vijay Kulkarni noted that Bandhavgarh, a critical tiger habitat under Project Tiger, cannot host large-scale human activities without threatening its biodiversity.
The tribunal observed that earlier yatras had drawn more than 14,000 participants into the reserve's core zone, with pilgrims cutting bamboo for walking sticks, camping without sanitation, polluting the Charanganga river, and disturbing wildlife. Such practices, the NGT said, were in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, and the Environment Protection Act, 1986
The applicant argued that the Field Director's permission lacked safeguards such as caps on numbers, entry-exit regulation, waste management, or sanitation provisions.
The tribunal noted that these omissions amounted to serious lapses.
Citing a carrying capacity study by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, the NGT recorded that while the terrain could theoretically handle 7,000–8,000 pilgrims, the presence of tigers, elephants and other large animals restricted safe capacity to only 4,000–5,000 visitors. The WII recommended entry through vehicles only, online registration a month in advance, and better crowd regulation
The tribunal directed the Madhya Pradesh government to finalize a Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for regulating such yatras within three months.
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Until then, it said, the state must ensure minimal disturbance to wildlife and strictly adhere to existing guidelines framed under Project Tiger in 2012.
The order comes at a time when rising religious tourism in tiger reserves has raised alarm among conservationists about its impact on protected habitats. The tribunal made it clear that while faith must be respected, it cannot override ecological imperatives.
With these directions, the tribunal disposed of the petition.
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