Uttarakhand Minister's Son Wedding in Tiger Reserve Raises Forest Violation Concerns

DEHRADUN/HARIDWAR: Preparations for the wedding of Uttarakhand cabinet minister Khajan Das's son were carried out inside the core zone of Rajaji Tiger Reserve (RTR) at Sureshwari Devi temple, allegedly without permission from forest authorities, raising concerns over alleged violations of forest and wildlife norms. On Saturday, materials for a large setup - a pandal, a stage, coolers and generators - were taken into the reserve area, an ecologically sensitive zone that houses elephants, tigers and leopards, among other animals and bird species. The forest department registered a case against the temple committee under provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Ajay Lingwal, the warden of Haridwar forest range under RTR, told TOI, "No permission had been granted for such an event. After receiving information about it, the tents and other arrangements were removed on Sunday." The wedding rituals were allowed to be conducted inside the temple. Officials said the wedding was "held in a restricted manner without any elaborate arrangements". Responding to the charges, Ashish Marwari, general secretary of Ma Sureshwari Devi temple committee, said, "Wedding rituals of minister Khajan Das's son were intended to be conducted in a simple way. Tents and other arrangements were made considering the heat. The forest department officials were also informed about this." Marwari added that there had been no mistake on their part and they would soon respond to the case. Das, who holds the social welfare portfolio in the Dhami govt, said he had been visiting the temple for several years and also attributed his recovery from an illness to the deity's blessings, and so he wished for his son's wedding to take place there. He claimed he was not informed that formal permission was required. "A request was made to the temple committee and there were also discussions with forest officials, who agr-eed to the programme. We only intended to perform simple rituals and formalise the wedding," the minister said. Senior IFS officers in the department confirmed that no written permission was sought for the event.