DEHRADUN:: The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has asked the Union environment ministry to evaluate guidelines issued under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, and Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, associating with setting up of zoos and safaris within tiger reserves and wildlife sanctuaries in India in order to dissuade tourism in wildlife environment, particularly those which are non-site specific .

The CEC report, a copy of which is with TOI, states, Any approval provided for setting up of zoos and safaris within the tiger reserves and secured locations are withdrawn forthwith, other than to allow animal rescue activities including rescue and rehab of injured/incapacitated animals from the very same landscape.

Incidentally, in June in 2015, the environment ministry had stated that zoos are a forestry activity and can be developed in forests and buffer zones of wildlife sanctuaries .

It had then decided to do away with paragraphs 12.6 and 12.7 of the handbook of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, where animals are kept for exhibition as a non-forestry activity .

This step had actually drawn strong criticism from ecologists and wildlife enthusiasts who revealed concern that the relocation would make use of wild animals and their habitat substantially.The CEC in its report particularly mentioned that only animals of respective landscapes are to be saved and fixed up in the concerned rescue centres that are being established in tiger reserves and safeguarded locations .

The relocation came after a probe into the Corbett safari case of Uttarakhand, in which the panel pulled up various wings of the Union environment ministry, including the Central Zoo Authority and National Tiger Conservation Authority, for loopholes in the standards, inadvertently paving way for the illicit works .

The panel likewise questioned the role of former forest minister Harak Singh Rawat who allegedly kept on supporting the posting of tainted forest official, Kishan Chand, presently in custody, to a delicate location in Kalagarh Tiger Reserve where major building works were carried out in the name of the tiger safari without approval from skilled authorities.The matter will now turn up for hearing at the peak court on February 8.