Corbett Tiger Reserve: "Public trust doctrine in the waste bin," says Supreme Court

Observing that the "public trust doctrine" has been thrown into the waste bin, the Supreme Court pulled up former Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat and a former divisional forest officer today, 6 March, for allowing illegal construction and felling of trees in the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR).

An apex court bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai said it was amazed at the audacity of Rawat, who was the forest minister in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 2021 and is now with the Congress, and of former divisional forest officer Kishan Chand in giving statutory provisions a complete pass.

"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, which also includes justices P.K. Mishra and Sandeep Mehta, said.

The apex court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is already probing the case, to file its status report in the matter within three months.

"This is a case where bureaucrats and politicians have thrown public trust doctrine in the waste bin," it added.

The court's judgment came on a petition filed by environment activist and lawyer Gaurav Bansal alleging destruction of the tiger habitat and a decline in the tiger density in the Lansdowne Forest Division owing to illegal construction in the Pakhro Tiger Safari as well as illicit felling of thousands of trees.

"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 said it was amazed at the audacity of Rawat and Chand in giving statutory provisions a total go-by.

It also formed a committee to look at whether tiger safaris can be allowed in the buffer or fringe areas of national parks.

The Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court had earlier held Rawat and Chand responsible for various illegal activities, including constructions in connection with a tiger safari in 2021, in the Pakhro and Morghatti forest areas of the Kalagarh Forest Division of the CTR.

In its report submitted to the apex court, the committee held Rawat and Chand guilty of construction activities in connection with the tiger safari and other illegal projects in the Pakhro and Morghatti forest areas.

It had also given its green signal to the Uttarakhand vigilance department to continue with the legal proceedings against the forest officials involved in the irregularities.

The committee had said even when the media was reporting all kinds of disturbances in Pakhro and Morghatti, the then chief wildlife warden and the state government did not take action against the culprits.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier raided the residences of Rawat and Chand in connection with illegal construction in the tiger reserve.

The CTR, famous for the Royal Bengal Tiger, remains closed for tourists during monsoon and opens in October–November.

Spread over an area of 1,288.31 square kilometres, it is known for its biodiversity and the density of tigers here is the highest in the world.

Rawat was the forest minister in the BJP government in Uttarakhand in 2021. He was expelled by the saffron party ahead of the 2022 state Assembly polls, following which he joined the Congress.