Resorts near tiger reserves have turned choice wedding destinations: Supreme Court
- March 7, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Resorts near tiger reserves have turned choice wedding destinations: Supreme Court
Subject: Environment
Section: Env legislation and organisation
Context:
- The Supreme Court criticized the rapid growth of resorts around tiger reserves, which are increasingly being used as venues for weddings, causing disturbances with loud music that disrupts the forest habitat.
Details:
- Justice B.R. Gavai, in a judgment regarding the illegal tree felling in the protected Jim Corbett National Park, highlighted this issue as part of a broader concern about commercial activities undermining the ecological balance of protected forest areas.
- The Supreme Court has ordered the formation of an expert committee by the Ministry of Environment to recommend regulations on the establishment of resorts near protected areas. This committee is tasked with determining the acceptable number and types of resorts and specifying restrictions on noise levels within a certain distance from protected forests.
- Highlighting the government’s role as a trustee of natural resources, the court emphasized that these resources should not be converted into private ownership or used for commercial purposes in a way that compromises their aesthetic value and ecological integrity.
- The Supreme Court stated that any encroachment on natural resources for private, commercial, or any other use should only be permitted if deemed necessary for the public good and in the public interest, maintaining a firm stance on protecting the environment and ecosystems of the country.
Laws related to tree felling in India:
- In India, aspects related to trees are covered under the Indian Forest Act, 1927
- It is broadly under this Act that each state has laid down rules and regulations against tree felling.
Along with that various states have come up their own laws for the same purpose like-
- Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Preservation of Trees Act 1975
- Delhi Preservation of Trees Act (1994)
- Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act 1976
- West Bengal Trees (Protection and Conservation in Non-Forest Areas) Act, 2006
- Also, various cities like Gurugram, Chennai etc. come up with their own notifications regarding felling of trees
Cutting OF RESERVED TREES and FORESTS:
- Under Indian Forest Act, 1927, Section 30– The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
- declare any trees or class of trees in a protected forest to be reserved from a date fixed by, the notification;
- declare that any portion of such forest specified in the notification shall be closed for such term, not exceeding thirty years, as the State Government thinks fit, and that the rights of private persons, if any, over such portion shall be suspended during such terms
Section 33 Indian Forest Act:
- Penalties for acts in contravention of notification under section 30
- Any person who-
- fells any tree reserved under section 30, or strips off the bark or leaves from, or otherwise damages, any such tree;
- permits cattle to damage any such tree;
- shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with a fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.
- Is it punishable to cut trees even on my own premises?
- Yes, according to the Indian Forest Act, the penalty for cutting down a tree is Rs.10,000 or 3 months imprisonment.
- This punishment may extend up to one year under various state acts.
- But in some cases like where a tree is blocking your way, whose branches are spreading to your house or blocking hoardings, you need to take a clearance from the Forest department, before cutting that tree.
Source: TH