Forest rest houses in Palamu tiger reserve are now shut for tourists visiting this tiger reserve.  There will be no booking of any room in these forest rest houses for the tourists.

Sources said this has landed the visiting tourists in great trouble as barring Betla, where there are tourist lodges and private hotels for accommodation of tourists PTR’s five other ranges namely Garu East, Garu West, Chhipadohar East, Chhipadohar West , Bareysarn  and Kutku range have neither any tourists’ lodge nor any private hotels for the tourists.

Sources said a tourist is now constrained to stay put in Betla from where he/ she goes to other ranges in the day but has to come to Betla to spend his/ her night in a room now. Their hardships are too big said sources.

 “I wanted to spend my night in one of the two tree forest rest houses in Maromar. I could not do any booking. Online booking here is shut. I first came to Betla and from there I took a journey down to Maromar a distance of  35 Kms from Betla and before sunset I was again back in Betla . It is like a shuttling between two tourist destinations,” said a tourist.

Field director PTR Dr Mohan Lal confirmed that forest rest houses in PTR have slammed its doors for the tourists. However, he hastened to add, “This we have not done in any arbitrary manner.  There is a Court Order and that too from the Apex Court.  Our forest rest houses are now not for tourists. We cannot do any reservation of room or rooms in respect of tourists.”

 Lal said, “A writ petition (civil) was filed in the Supreme Court way back in 1995. Two Hon’ble Justices of the  Supreme Court  heard this on July 5, 2018 where upon the Apex Court accepting the guidelines as framed by Central Empowered Committee turned the guidelines of this committee into an order prohibiting misuse of forest rest houses in name of reservation or booking of its rooms citing reasons that forest rest houses and inspection bungalows located in the forest and in the protected forest areas are the prime abode meant for the forest officials who are engaged in various works of conservation, protection, maintenance of wild life and its habitat.”

Lal said the petitioner of this civil writ Bikram Singh had alleged that there is misuse of forest houses and this order of the Apex Court came on this very issue.

Lal clarified that under this order of the Apex Court even the district administration cannot have it except where for a specific purpose and for a period prescribed by the administration forest rest houses located in forest/ protected areas can be made available to the district administration.

Supreme Court has further forbidden any transfer of forest rest houses into any kind of arrangement like that of PPP (public private partnership) mode etc.

PTR’s Maromar has 6 beds in all that are in two tree houses and one rest house and at Bareysarn there are just 4 rooms two in tree house and two in forest rest house.

 All these are shut for the tourists. So is the case with the rooms in forest rest house in Betla.

Sources said such a shutting down of forest rest houses for tourists may see a boom in hotel business in Betla.