The High Court of Uttarakhand has asked the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) whether electric vehicles can be operated in the Corbett national park to prevent noise pollution from conventional-fuel vehicles from disturbing the wildlife. The NTCA has been asked to submit its reply in the court in a period of four weeks. In the meanwhile, the high court has allowed the entry of 32 vehicles per day in the Jhirna and Bijrani zones in addition to 15 Gypsy jeeps in the Durgadevi zone.
During hearing on a PIL, the advocate representing the State Government informed the high court division bench of Acting Chief Justice Rajiv Sharma and justice Lokpal Singh that the Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) had been formed and had started operating in Corbett. During the hearing, two resort owners made a submission in the high court stating that the captive elephants rescued from captivity from resorts should be returned to them. They averred that the captive elephants were not sick when they were being held in captivity by the resort owners.
However, on the basis of the veterinary officers report, the division bench stated that the elephants were sick at the time of their rescue from the resorts where they had been kept in captivity, with two of the rescued pachyderms suffering from tuberculosis. On this basis, the division bench rejected the appeal of the resort owners.
