NGT seeks response from Centre, and Himachal govt After committee flags violations causing environmental damage in Kufri forest area
The applicant in the case raised the matter of disturbance caused at Kufri, “due to unscientific management of tourist activities including employment of horses to a large number in a small area which was affecting natural vegetation, local ecology and damaging the environment at large scale.”
On the degradation of natural vegetation, the report stated that forest soil near the path is being degraded, in addition to areas beyond it that are becoming part of the degradation process. (File) After a committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) found “violations causing damage to the environment” resulting from tourism activity in a forest area in Kufri, Himachal Pradesh, the Tribunal has sought responses from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the government of Himachal Pradesh.
The applicant in the case before the NGT’s Principal Bench had raised the matter of disturbance caused at Kufri “due to unscientific management of tourist activities including employment of horses to a large number in a small area which was affecting natural vegetation, local ecology and damaging the environment at large scale.”
To prepare a factual report on the matter, the Tribunal had constituted a joint committee in March this year, comprising the divisional forest officer, Shimla, representatives of the Union environment ministry and the State Pollution Control Board, and the district magistrate, Shimla.
Considering a trail that leads to the Mahasu Peak, a tourist spot in Kufri, the committee noted that the unregulated use of horses or ponies is responsible for causing “damage to the ecology not only of the prescribed trail or path but also for the destruction of green areas” in and around the area.
It has also noted that temporary shops, parking for vehicles, and halting points for horses have been created and the legality of these activities is to be verified since the area is at the edge of a wildlife sanctuary.
On the degradation of natural vegetation, the report stated that forest soil near the path is being degraded, in addition to areas beyond it that are becoming part of the degradation process.
It pointed to construction along with the paving of pathways and the creation of parking lots as causing disturbance to the local ecosystem.
It added: “The mule/pony ride activity is emerging here as a distinct driver of degradation, and such anthropogenic pressures are reducing both the quantity and quality of the local forest around Kufri.”
The committee’s report has, however, pointed to the livelihood generated by these tourism activities, and has made recommendations accordingly.
“However, the livelihood of thousands of people located in the Gram Panchayat Kufri Shawah, Nala, Makhrol, Tayia etc. depend upon the horses and other tourism-related activities in Kufri.
Therefore, the horse-riding activity being carried out on a commercial scale involving 1029 horses/ponies need to be regulated as per the guidelines of MoEFCC as the area of operation is a reserve forest and no such FCA (Forest Conservation Act) clearance has been sought in this regard,” the report stated.
It also recommended that the registration of new horses be restricted till areas of the forecast adjoining the mule path are revived by the Forest Department.
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