According to a 2015 order by the Department of Forest, Government of Rajasthan, construction activities within one kilometre around eco-sensitive zones (ESZs) are prohibited. One such ESZ is the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, which can potentially become a tiger reserve. The 2015 order restricted both commercial and residential constructions in the area, with a caveat that residential buildings having up to 20 rooms could operate as hotels.
In January 2022, Advocate Rituraj Singh Rathore submitted a petition in the Rajasthan High Court that numerous illegal constructions have come up in the region in violation of the 2015 order and, therefore, must be stopped. “Eight to 12 construction activities have already been stopped by the Department of Forest, and this court order should help prevent others too. The area under forest has been declining due to such illegal activities,” he told LCW.
The court took note of the order and stayed all construction activities in the area on January 18, 2022. However, business owners have opposed the decision.
One such business owner, on the condition of anonymity, told LCW that environment conservation and development should go hand-in-hand. He referred to the [ESZ guidelines from 2017](http://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/1 Guidelines for Eco-Sensitive Zones around Protected Areas.pdf) by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and pointed out that such guidelines permit the establishment of hotels and resorts with appropriate regulations. “Development should not be stopped but rather regulated in such regions. Tourism will only help the local economy, and this blanket ban does not consider construction activities that are vital,” he told LCW.
Harsh Vardhan, secretary and founder of the Tourism and Wildlife Society of India, shared a similar sentiment. He told LCW that all stakeholders were not consulted before the issuance of this blanket ban. “The court order is not clear about what kind of construction activities must be banned, and as a result the business owners face losses, especially ones that do not cause any harm to the environment. Conservation programmes should be people-friendly,” he said.
LCW reached out to Gayatri Rathore, principal secretary tourism and chairperson of the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation, and Shreya Guha, principal secretary, Department of Forest, via email but did not get any response.
On March 16, 2022, the Rajasthan high court upheld the 2015 notification passed by the forest department, prohibiting all construction activity in the protected area. The court also directed that commercial tourism activity shall not be permitted in residential premises, except those sanctioned as per law.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Opposition to restriction on construction activities in ESZ
Region Classification
Urban and Rural
Type of Land
Common and Private
Forest
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Non-consultation with stakeholders
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Disposed
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
No
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
High Court of Rajasthan, Jodhpur Bench
Case Number
CW/10096/2021
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Principal secretary, Department of Tourism; district collector, Rajsamand; district collector, Pali; Department of Forest
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
Yes
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Business owners
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
Kuber is a second-year student of Political Science and Economics at St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, with interests in public policy, rural development, political analysis and organisation management. He is currently interning with the Observer Research Foundation. In the past, he has worked with Transform Rural India Foundation (an initiative of Tata Trusts) and India Development Review, learning research, data and organisation management.
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