Seal illegal under-construction units in Gir sanctuary: Gujarat HC

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Thursday ordered sealing of illegal under-construction units in Gir sanctuary and also commercial establishments running without permission in the sprawling wildlife zone, the last abode of Asiatic lions spread over three districts.

Acting on a PIL, a division bench ordered a halt to all illegal under-construction units in the lion sanctuary located in Gir-Somnath, Amreli and Junagadh districts.

The bench of Justices Jayant Patel and R H Shukla directed Gujarat government to seal 61 under-construction units (residential and commercial) that are coming up without obtaining permission from state authorities.

The HC also directed the District Collectors to issue show-cause notices, within 10 days, to the commercial units running without permission under a new eco-tourism policy. The Collectors should seek a reply within 15 days and if their owners fail to do so, the units should be sealed.

The bench asked the state to present before it the delineation map of the eco-sensitive zone of Gir on next hearing (September 10). The direction came after the unit- owners said they were not aware of the radius of the zone.

Earlier, the Collectors of Junagadh, Amreli and Gir- Somnath districts had filed affidavits before the HC, stating that around 244 illegal units, some of the under-construction, are operating in the sanctuary without obtaining required permission from authorities concerned.

Gir-Somnath, Amreli and Junagadh areas of the sanctuary have 156, 71 and 17 illegal units, respectively.

Government had presented its new eco-tourism policy for Gir sanctuary before the HC. The policy deals with the hotels and other commercial establishments operating outside the protected area of the sanctuary.

The policy bars commercial activities in the eco-sensitive zone spread over around 10km and located on the periphery of the sanctuary. The policy document came in response to the June 11 direction of the High Court.

The HC took up the issue after Surat resident Rajkumar Sutaria filed a PIL stating that illegal sand mining in the area poses a threat to the existence of wild animals like Asiatic lion, sloth bear, hyena and golden jackal.

Earlier, the High Court had ordered closure of 67 sand-mining units located within the 10km radius of Gir where they were running without obtaining no objection certificates.