HC seeks govt reply on nods for resort in proposed tiger park
The high court of Bombay at Goa on Tuesday called for a response from central and state authorities in a petition challenging permissions, approvals, and work orders issued for the construction of a tourist resort on the Surla plateau in the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary, which is to be notified as a tiger reserve.
In July 2023, the court directed state to notify the sanctuary and adjacent sanctuaries as a tiger reserve following recommendations from the national tiger conservation authority under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, Goa Foundation submitted to the high court.
The land designated for the resort lies entirely within the core area of the proposed tiger reserve, an ecologically-sensitive region known for its rich biodiversity, including tigers, sloth bears, leopards, pangolins, vipers, and over 300 unique plant species.
Despite the absence of any stay on the high court's directions and the pendency of proceedings seeking contempt action against the state for non-compliance with HC directions, authorities like the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) and Goa Forest Development Corporation proceeded to issue approvals and work orders for the resort.
The project's outlay of nearly Rs 8 crore for permanent structures and an electric fence to exclude wildlife from the resort area further highlights the prioritisation of commercial interests over conservation imperatives, Goa Foundation said.
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It is located on land measuring 6,660sqm of Surla village in Sattari, and falls within the core zone of the to-be-notified tiger reserve.
'The tourist resort project's continuation would cause irreversible ecological damage to one of Goa's most sensitive wildlife habitats,' Goa Foundation told the court.
The resort project is being promoted under the label of 'eco-tourism', with a view to developing a Surla waterfall viewpoint and converting it into a 'world-class destination', and has nothing to do with either wildlife or wildlife conservation, Goa Foundation told the court.
Goa Foundation stated that the forest minister and his wife, the chairperson of Goa Forest Development Corporation, have been vehemently opposed to implementing the high court's directions relating to the tiger reserve.
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