Tadoba bends rules for VIP round table meet in forest core

Nagpur: When common tourists have to pay through the nose for a safari in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), the forest department has gone out of the way to allow VIPs a two-day round table conference inside the core area near Tadoba lake.
The meet on February 20 and 21 will be held in the rest house opposite the lake, which has been converted into PCCF (wildlife) and field director’s camp office after NTCA guidelines based on Supreme Court directions. “Ideally, the rest house should be used by wildlife officials on tour, but it is being misused,” said wildlife lover Dr Jerryl Banait.

Papers with TOI show the meet has been termed as ‘biodiversity, economics, social, climate change discussion’. It will be attended by seven officials from United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in India.

The 25 other dignitaries include forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, J&K environment minister Tassaduq Mufti, Rajasthan forest minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar, DGP Satish Mathur, additional chief secretary Praveen Pardeshi, Bittu Sahgal, actress Dia Mirza, leading bank CEOs, members of NGO Sanctuary Nature Foundation, Vivek Menon of WTI, WII’s Bilal Habib, IFS officers and others.

All the dignitaries will stay at the high profile Bamboo Forest Safari Lodge (BFSL) near Kolara. On February 21, the guests will be shown the community conservancy site and later enter core area for safari followed by conference at the rest house. They have been given freedom to enter from Navegaon or Kolara gates, and exit from Zari gate, which is permanently closed.

When visitors have to shell out Rs4,000 or 8,000 for an emergency entry, all visitors have been granted entry under VIP quota, violating NTCA guidelines on carrying capacity and TCP.

NTCA member-secretary Debabrata Swain said, “There is no problem is holding a conference but it should be outside the core area. It is wrong to hold the event at the rest house inside. I will find out.”

Senior wildlife officials have directed local staff to make the canter available for free at Kolara gate on February 21 for safari. Besides, three vehicles of bamboo resort will also be allowed for VIPs without any gate fee.

APCCF (wildlife) N Rambabu refused to comment. TATR field director Mukul Trivedi confirmed the conference, but he too refused to talk.

Mungantiwar, who is presiding over the meet, said, “My name must be in the list but I will be busy with Baba Ramdeo, who is in Chandrapur in the same period. I will find out if the meet is being held in core area and will get back to you.”

RTI activist Avinash Prabhune, who is fighting against VIP culture in Tadoba, slammed the move. “Why is the meet being held in core area when Tadoba has a well-equipped conference hall outside Mohurli gate. There are VIP suites and posh resorts too. It is a huge financial loss for the park for vested interests.”

Dr Banait says as per NTCA ecotourism guidelines the lake area is prohibited for outsiders. Besides, the rules state that permanent tourism facilities located inside core or critical tiger habitat, which are being used for wildlife tourism, should be phased out in a time frame decided by the LAC.

LAC members said they are unaware about the conference. “Despite SC directions, lakhs have been spent to renovate the rest house, ostensibly for such VIP parties,” said a section of them on condition of anonymity.

Country’s first electric safari vehicle in TATR

Forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar will launch India’s first specialized non-polluting electric safari vehicle in TATR on Wednesday. A donation for one such vehicle will also be handed over for landless local families living near the park as part of livelihood creation. The team will later visit Gothangaon gate of Umred-Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary to review a conservancy project.