The project was initially envisaged as an animal rescue facility with open air enclosures and an interpretation centre for tourists.
Documents reviewed by The Indian Express show the state embarked on a construction spree worth at least Rs 157 crore — six times the approved project cost of Rs 24.60 crore — without any legal, administrative, or financial sanction.
The Uttarakhand government started work on a tiger safari facility in Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) months before it received forest clearance in September from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, and strikingly far beyond the scope of the Rs 24.60 crore project that was approved.
Documents reviewed by The Indian Express show the state went on a construction spree worth at least Rs 157 crore — six times the approved project cost of Rs 24.60 crore — without any legal, administrative, or financial sanction.
The project was initially envisaged as an animal rescue facility with open air enclosures and an interpretation centre for tourists. But the state went ahead with unapproved works such as construction of 18 buildings with at least 60 rooms with attached bath at four locations around the tiger safari, creation of a water body requiring felling of trees to attract wildlife for tourists, and reinforcement of a forest road with provisions to widen it as a highway.
Following a writ petition in Delhi High Court and two field inspections by Central agencies, the illegal work was finally put on hold in November and Uttarakhand transferred as many as 30 forest officials, including the state’s Head of Forest Force (HoFF) and Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW), to ensure a “transparent vigilance” probe.
Even after a month, Kishan Chand, the forest officer entrusted with the extensive construction work is yet to relinquish charge as Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Kalagarh, the western division of CTR.
On Thursday, the Corbett staff “locked down” all office premises of this division to protest the “dual command” as Kishan Chand’s replacement took “one-sided charge” on December 11.
When contacted, CTR Director Rahul said the safari work did commence without the final FC. “We had Stage-1 FC, other approvals and began constructing the interpretation centre this February. The work with no approval started in July and I asked the DFO to stop it,” he said. DFO (Kalagarh) Kishan Chand did not respond to multiple phone calls and messages.
Following a writ petition in Delhi High Court and two field inspections by Central agencies, the illegal work was finally put on hold in November and Uttarakhand transferred as many as 30 forest officials, including the state’s Head of Forest Force (HoFF) and Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW), to ensure a “transparent vigilance” probe.
Vinod Kumar, who took charge as HoFF after the reshuffle, said the “question of work done without sanction” would be taken up only after the completion of a vigilance probe ordered in November. “The police team has collected all the documents,” he said.
Uttarakhand Forest Minister Harak Singh Rawat is optimistic the tiger safari will now be ready for tourists in January. “The interpretation centre and one of the three tiger enclosures are almost ready. There is no irregularity. Uttarakhand has so much forest and wildlife thanks to its people who must also benefit from tourism activities,” he said.
Asked why approvals were not taken for additional construction inside the CTR, Rawat said, “Who gives these approvals? The government only, no? Modi-ji announced the tiger safari. The state and the Centre are working on it together. Maybe there are certain technical issues due to internal differences among some officials but ultimately tourism will benefit our people whose support is important for conservation.”
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