Rishikesh (U’khand): Members of a Supreme Court-appointed panel will arrive in Uttarakhand on March 28 to visit the sites of construction and road projects undertaken in the buffer zones of Corbett and Rajaji Tiger reserves in violation of the norms.
The Central Empowered Committee constituted by the apex court will undertake site visits of the buffer zones of the two reserves from March 28-30, advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal said.
The CEC is looking into Bansal’s applications on the upgradation of Laldhang-Chillarkhal road that passes through the buffer zone of Rajaji and the illegal felling of trees, construction of buildings and water bodies in Pakhro and Morghatti ranges of Corbett. The panel includes its chairman PV Jayakrishnan, member Mahendra Vyas and member secretary Amarnatha Shetty. A field visit earlier by a team of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had taken note of illegal constructions carried out in Morghatti and Pakhro ranges of Corbett and recommended stern action against forest officials without whose connivance the violations were not possible.
Several probe committees set up in the light of the recommendations of the NTCA team had indicted officials for their connivance including the then chief wildlife warden J S Suhag and ex Kalagarh DFO Kishan Chand.
The site visit by the CEC may expedite penal action against the guilty officials. So far penal action has been taken only against ranger Brij Bihari Sharma. —PTI
