CORBETT HIGHWAY

Acting on an affidavit filed by the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) and the Corbett Foundation against a proposed highway through Corbett Tiger Reserve, the Supreme Court (SC) recently ordered the state of Uttaranchal to submit a revised proposal to the Union ministry of environment and forests. The SC has given Uttaranchal one week to submit a revised proposal to the ministry, and said that the ministry should respond to the proposal within four weeks. The WPSI contends that the highway through the Reserve would endanger the very future of Corbett. It would also involve the felling of many trees, which was banned in February 2000 by the SC. In March 2000, about 7,000 trees were illegally cut to create a fire line along the southern border of Corbett. "Further felling would be disastrous," said Belinda Wright, executive director of WPSI.