New Delhi: While replying to a recent update of the Lok Sabha, Union Environment Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh remarked that as per a Supreme Court order, no new permanent structure will be allowed to come up in the eco-sensitive zones, including the forest reserves and the forest lands. This is important because the National Wildlife Board and the Forest Advisory Committee receive numerous proposals involving various projects in these vulnerable areas.
Singh further explained that the June 3, 2022, Supreme Court order only bans greenfield permanent structures within the ESZs. This prohibition relates to, inter alia, hotels, tourist resorts, and any such type of development. Further to the above-mentioned order of the Court, the operation/performance of the activities aforesaid is allowed subject and paraphrase to the guidelines as framed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change further vide notification dated February 9, 2011.
In the course of the debate, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Hanuman Beniwal raised the legitimacy of existing infrastructure development to express how hotels and resorts sprouted in the buffer zones of Sariska and the catchment region of Siliserh Lake in Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. Singh confirmed that the government intends to enforce the rule on the supreme court orders and the Ministry’s directives. He pointed out that these regulations apply to all the States and Union Territories to ensure the proper conservation and management of forests and ecologically sensitive zones.
Besides, in response to a question from the member- Khalilur Rahaman of the All India Trinamool Congress, Singh was able to ease the tension provoked by the effects of the uncontrolled flow of tourism to the hill stations. He agreed that tourism, which occurs beyond the visitor capacity that the recipient ecosystem can handle, affects the balance of these ecosystems, making them more vulnerable to climate change impacts. Singh added that because of uncontrolled growth, such as deforestation and changes in the existing watersheds, hill stations become more susceptible to erosion, landslides, and other disasters.
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