NGT issues notices on plea to halt road through Corbett

NGT issues notices on plea to halt road through Corbett

1. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has halted the construction of Kandi Road Project in Uttarakhand. The Kandi Road Project seeks to connect Ramnagar in Kumaon to Kotdwar in Garhwal.
2. The construction of the road has been stopped as it passes through the core area of The Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve.
3. The NGT order comes in the backdrop of a plea which alleged that the construction of the link road would damage the ecosystem and biodiversity of the tiger reserve.
4. The plea has stated that the construction of the road was in violation of previous Supreme Court orders. Supreme Court had prohibited the construction of any road through the Corbett Tiger Reserve.
5. In 2005, the SC had approved a plan of a road connecting the Garhwal and Kumaon regions which did not include road passing through Jim Corbett.
6. Jim Corbet National Park was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park- the first national park in India. It is located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand. The park was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1973- the first to come under the Project Tiger initiative.
7. The National Green Tribunal was established in 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010. The responsibility of the tribunal is to work on the disposal of cases related to environmental protection, conservation of forests and other natural resources.