SAJNEKHALI: A three-storey luxury lodge for tourists, with spacious rooms and an expansive lobby, spread over 15,000 sq ft in the heart of tiger territory in the Sunderbans. This might sound shocking to conservationists and nature-lovers, but not the state tourism department. It has wrapped up about half the construction work, next to the forest department office at Sajnekhali, which saw tiger intrusions twice in the last fortnight.
What's worse, the building is less than 10 feet from a sweet water pond that is frequented by tigers, deer, fishing cats, wild boar and sundry other animals. Apart from driving away the creatures who will obviously be forced to look for quieter pastures once tourists move in, the environmental impact of such a facility could be crippling for the mangrove forest, experts warn.
The signs of construction-induced damage are already visible and have set alarm bells ringing. Tonnes of soft earth has been scooped up from an adjacent plot for the lodge although it is illegal to excavate forest land. It has left dozens of mangrove plantations in a precarious state with their roots hanging loose. Many have already toppled while the rest could fall soon.
Heaps of iron beams, wooden planks, bamboo poles and other construction material lie piled up at the site. Tonnes of nails are regularly dumped into the muddy ground around the building which could injure animals, say forest officials who are aghast at the decision to let the construction work go ahead. Two storeys of the building have already been built.
There are also concerns that the lodge may be airconditioned (the existing lodge at Sajnekhali has no air-conditioners). The tourism department denied it but site supervisors admitted that they have been ordered to create AC vents. The department also claims that no new construction is happening in the area and that the existing lodge was "merely being extended".
"Our old lodge is in a deplorable state so we are redesigning it and adding an extra wing. The construction is happening within the tourism zone and not within the forest area," said TVN Rao, managing director, West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation. Tourism minister Manab Mukherjee termed it as a renovation work, but cryptically added that he was not sure if it was a tourism zone. "It is a forest department complex and we are renovating the existing lodge which is in a bad shape," said Mukherjee.
Conservationists say this is not in the rule book. "According to a Supreme Court order, no construction is allowed within 500 metres of sanctuaries, certainly not inside forests. This particular area is a tiger habitat. So, this is a gross violation of the rule," said F S Rathod, veteran conservationist.
The big cats regularly come to Sajnekhali. A tigress in fact jumped the walls and prowled the lodge complex for nearly a day, scaring a bunch of tourists and foresters out of their living daylights.
Sunderban Biosphere Reserve director Pradip Vyas confirmed that no new construction was permitted within a notified sanctuary. "As far as I know, the tourism department had sought permission to extend the existing facility and they have been allowed to do that. No new structure is being built," said Vyas.
The reality, however, was quite different. The "extension" is at least three times the size of the old lodge and should qualify as a new structure since it is not connected to the old one. "We shall take care to ensure minimum interference with nature. Also, this will be run by the tourism department and won't be handed over to any private organization," Rao clarified.
"It is surprising that a construction of this scale has been allowed inside Sunderbans. You need a clearance from the West Bengal Bio-diversity Board and a no-objection certificate from the Pollution Control Board for this. These clearances have to be preceded by an environment impact assessment which a project like this is bound to fail," said Sudipto Bhattacharya, an environment activist and pollution expert.
Tiger expert Valmik Thapar agreed. "Even though I am not a legal expert, it seems a little weird. There should have been an impact study undertaken by the forest department and the tourism authorities before allowing construction. I wonder if it is legally and environmentally justifiable. Having a big lodge on a Sunderbans island cannot be beneficial for wild animals," said Thapar.
The lodge could also endanger tourists. Two weeks back, a tigress had used a mound of mud created for the construction work to jump the perimeter fence. The new lodge is right next to a sweetwater pond. Last Tuesday, a tiger that had been lurking in the area and making forays into a neighbouring village was trapped barely 100 yards from the new lodge. Its male companion is still hovering around the complex. Forest employees have pictures of tigers taken at the sweet water pond. At least two tigers now visit the pond regularly, they say.
"The lodge will lead to more man-tiger encounters and eventually the latter will have to retreat from the area. It could also lead to more strayings as tigers will look for alternative pastures," warned Rathod.
Union minister of state for tourism Sultan Ahmed has expressed concern at the project. "I have asked for the details and will find out if there has been a violation of the rules," said Ahmed.
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