Thiruvananthapuram: The director general of tourism, Mr Satyajeet Rajan, said that the state Forest Department was putting spanner in the works of eco-tourism circuits planned for the state. “The Department has not given clearance for certain components in the Pathanamthitta-Gavi-Wagamon-Thekkady eco-tourism circuit,” Mr Rajan said. Result: The Centre was forced to remove a '4 crore component from the circuit.
The component mainly involved the construction of forest eco-lodges inside forest areas surrounding the catchment areas of Moozhiyar and Kakki dams. It also included inspection bungalows in Kochu Pampa and Kakki. “The Forest Department has refused permission for any construction inside forest areas, whether temporary or permanent” Mr Rajan said. The director general said that the state should take a leaf out of Madhya Pradesh.
“In MP, they allow the construction of forest lodges inside forest areas. All the states in the country are bound by the same laws and I am not sure why the Kerala Forest Department is adamant about prohibiting tourist-related constructions,” the director general said. What’s more, he said that the Forest Department had carried out various construction activities of their own inside reserve forests and tiger sanctuaries.
He said that it was also ironical that a former tourism secretary was now the forest principal secretary, referring to Dr V. Venu. “The other day he was seeking permission from the forest for tourism projects and now he has come at the top of the Forest Department,” Mr Rajan said. Dr Venu, however, said that he could comment only after studying the issue.
