State government and big-ticket investors have said the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has thrown spanner at investment projects in Bandhavgarh National Park.The authority has spiked their plans on grounds that their investment site is in close proximity of the park.
The state has said NTCA has rejected a couple of applications of few power projects and other projects on grounds that they are in 10-km radius of the park. “We have come across few such cases which have been rejected by NTCA although they were out of 10-km radius of the core area of the park. If an investor is operating in 12-15 km away from the park, how can we restrict them to make investments,” Department of Energy Secretary Mohammad Suleman told Business Standard. The issue has been raised by few investors in the recently concluded investors review meet.
NTCA top officials were not available for comments but a senior official said, “The restriction doesn’t come under the purview we only reject cases in accordance with a standing order passed by the Supreme Court. The ministry has the final decision on any case.”
An investor, whose company has a plan to set up a plant with an investment of Rs 2,200 crore. “We are facing problems in the area although we are more than 30 km away from the buffer zone of the park.” To which Suleman said, “We face difficulty in facilitating the investors in such cases”.