Jaipur . The Rajasthan High Court has directed forest officials to seize and attach illegal properties and constructions in the forest areas and critical tiger habitat areas of Ranthambore National Park. The high court also directed the district administration and police of Sawai Madhopur to cooperate with the forest officials and asked the Director General of Police (DGP) to monitor the case. The court of Justice Sameer Jain, while hearing a petition in this regard on Tuesday, expressed concern over the construction and encroachment being done in important tiger habitat areas in Ranthambore.
Petitioner’s advocate Ajay Pratap Singh said on Wednesday that the court has asked the police officers to fully cooperate with the forest officials. He said that the court has made it clear that if there is any kind of non-cooperation from the police officers, it should be brought to its notice. Singh said that illegal constructions of commercial nature are being done in critical tiger habitat areas.
He said that many construction activities, including guest houses, are being carried out in the tiger reserve in Ranthambore, which are a threat to the flora and fauna and should be stopped with immediate effect and an impartial investigation should be conducted. The Court spoke to the Chief Conservator of Forests of Ranthambore, Additional Superintendent of Police of Sawai Madhopur and Additional District Magistrate through video conferencing.
According to the court order, “The concerned authorities apprised the Court of the fact that the forest department/concerned authorities are taking action as per due legal process, however, due to lack of cooperation and assistance from the administration and police authorities, proper The measures are not being taken effectively.” The next hearing of the case will be on October 17. Ranthambore, one of the largest and most famous national parks in North India, is home to more than 70 tigers. Its total area is 1700.22 square kilometers, out of which 1113.364 square kilometers has been notified as ‘Critical Tiger Habitat’ and 297.92 square kilometers has been notified as ‘Buffer’ area.
