The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on 5th January withdrew permission for tourism and eco-tourism activities in the vicinity of the Parasnath Wildlife Sanctuary, Jharkhand.
Key points
- The area includes Sammed Shikharji Parvat Kshetra , which is a holy place for Jain community.
- Centre’s decision followed a meeting of Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav with members of the Jain community.
- There have been organised protests by members of the Jain community in several parts of India following a long-standing proposal by the Jharkhand Government to develop the Parasnath Hills in Jharkhand as an eco-tourism site.
- The location is of significant religious importance to Jains.
- Now, tribals have also jumped into the fray staking a claim to the land and asking for it to be freed. The state’s tribal community led by Santhal tribe termed Parasnath hill as ‘Marang Buru’ (hill deity or supreme source of power) and warned of a revolt if their demands were not heeded.
Parasnath Wildlife Sanctuary-Eco-Sensitive Zone
- The Parasnath WL Sanctuary was established by the erstwhile State of Bihar in 1984 under the provisions of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
- The Eco Sensitive Zone(ESZ) surrounding Parasanath was notified by the Government of India in consultation with the State Government of Jharkhand in 2019 under the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
- The eco-sensitive zone, according to provisions of the Environment Protection Act, is a buffer zone surrounding a ‘Protected Area.’ Eco Sensitive Zones act as some kind of “shock absorbers” to the Protected Areas by prohibiting, regulating and promoting activities around Protected Areas
- While protected zones permit almost no activities, eco-sensitive zones, under Clause 3 of the Act, are allowed to promote tourism provided a master plan specifying the permissible activities is given to the Centre by the concerned State government.
- In addition, for effective monitoring of the provisions of the above Eco Sensitive Zone notification under sub-section (3) of section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Central Government has constituted a Monitoring Committee under clause 5 of the said notification.
