Kerala govt suspends two Ecotourism projects at Periyar National Park

According to a PTI report, Kerala government has suspended two of its Ecotourism projects -- Tiger Trail and Jungle Patrol at the Periyar National Park in Thekkady in the wake of the controversy over Madhya Pradesh's proposed ‘Patrolling the Tiger Land’ scheme.

Senior officials from the Kerala Wildlife Department said they have put two Ecotourism projects on hold and have sought clarification from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in this regard. “We allow tourists to patrol with forests guards only in fringes of the sanctuary in Thekkady district and not inside core zone as proposed by the Madhya Pradesh government. We have sought clarification from NTCA in the matter and then only proceed with the projects. We are open to dropping the schemes if we find them in violation of the law,” said a senior official.

The move comes after the Ministry of Environment took objection to Madhya Pradesh government's decision to launch a novel scheme- 'Patrolling the Tiger Land' from October this year to attract tourists.