A Note on Tourism-Scenario in Tiger Reserves of Madhya

Pradesh.
Suhas Kumar, revised May 2016

Introduction
My recently concluded study "An Assessment of Ecotourism Strategies and Practices in Tiger
Reserves of Madhya Pradesh" is an attempt to explore the ongoing tourism development and
practices in the tiger reserves. This study is about understanding the place, role and objectives of
tourism within the goals of management of the tiger reserves and analyzing the policies, and the
legal framework that allow tourism within them. The study strives to look into the current
planning process for managing tourism in tiger reserves and assess the ongoing tourism
management practices in these protected areas in relation to the major goals of conserving tiger
and its habitats, supporting local communities and creating awareness among public at large.

The primary data collected in the field covered a range of all possible stakeholders involved in
development and management of tourism as well as those who are supposed to be impacted both positively and negatively - by tourism development in and around Kanha and Pench tiger
reserves. The stake holders covered are - hoteliers, Dhaba (eatery) owners, field directors of the
tiger reserves and management staff, visitors, guides, taxi drivers, and local people including
those who have sold their lands to hoteliers - The secondary data was collected from all five tiger
reserves as well as the revenue department. Primary and secondary data was collected on tourism
management practices, regulations, policy, staff deployment, dependence of local people on tiger
reserves' resources, conflicts and relationships, ecodevelopment inputs in villages, park
development fund and its utilization, status of prey base, populations estimates of endangered
and important prey species, tiger mortality data, offences committed by tourists taxi- drivers and
guides, forest and wildlife crime data, corridors and dispersal area, threats to tiger reserves and
management constraints, relationship with private and other public sectors involved in tourism
and land transaction data.

Analysis of existing policies indicate that content wise they largely conform to the basic
principles of ecotourism, but most lack clarity on the issues of providing directions for fostering
feasible and practical strategies for facilitating participation of local people in ecotourism
ventures and flow of benefits of ecotourism to host communities, conservation of natural
resources including wildlife and their habitats, sharing of benefits among stakeholders and
sustainable partnerships. The current laws, rules and statutory instructions also don't cover these
critical aspects of ecotourism and their effective implementation.

Analysis of current management practices revealed high density tourist visitation within core
areas of the reserves in Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Pench tiger reserves. Increase in number of
management staff is not commensurate with the rapid growth in visitation in Kanha, Pench and
Bandhavgarh. No comprehensive tourism management plan existed in either of the tiger reserves
studied. Carrying capacity limits are arbitrary and unscientific. There were no well set and
prescribed mechanisms to monitor of possible impacts of tourism on tiger reserves. Most of the
staff is untrained and aged. Protection and management staff is diverted to manage tourism.
There is no control over land use around the peripheral areas of the tiger reserve and most of the
development is incompatible with the goals of the buffer zone management. Visitors' feedback is
neither gathered nor used for planning and improvement. Efforts and strategy to involve and
benefit local people in tourism enterprise is absent. Interpretation programme are not coherent
enough to become effective. Staff lacks the understanding of the significance of awareness
programme. The study also revealed that there is no outreach programme for villagers.

As a part of the study the relation between villager and park was also studied. All the tourism
related fees and tariff levied by the tiger reserves are deposited in fund called Vikas Nidhi or
Development Fund created for each protected area. An analysis was done using the data on
development fund generation since its inception in the year1996-97 to find out the extent of
share of this resource has reached the local people who pay the price of conserving wildlife
everyday in terms of denial of access to forest resources, crop loss, cattle kills and injury and
death of villagers caused by wild animals. The analysis revealed that Kanha tiger reserve was
better than all other reserves in sharing the financial benefits of ecotourism with local people as it
has spent 16.35 % of the development fund on ecodevelopment works and 4.03 % as yearly
payments to ecodevelopment committees, Bandhavgarh spent 9.63 % on ecodevelopment works
and 3.97 % on making yearly payments to the EDCs. Pench, Panna and Satpura have contributed
nothing out of the revenue generated from tourism towards village development or as monetary
contribution to the ecodevelopment committees.

This study reveals that the ongoing practices and management of tourism in the reserves,
especially Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Pench make tourism incompatible and detrimental to the
primary objective conserving tiger. At present tourism in tiger reserves doesn't follow the
principles or show the characteristics of Ecotourism. In the absence of unambiguous policies and
regulations to protect environment, land, natural resources and interests of local people the
tourism related development in the buffer zone of the tiger reserves has exploded into 'Mass
tourism'. It is also evident that the benefits, as this study reveals, are small for the local people as
well as for the tiger reserves and have been offset by the losses from tourism that accrue to the
local people and the tiger reserves.

This study confirms that rapid escalation in visitor numbers in Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Pench
tiger reserves and the resultant crowd, noise and litter is eroding the very sense of wilderness that
visitors long to experience. On the other hand unplanned large scale construction of luxury
resorts, hotels and dhabas along the periphery of the core zones hamper free movement of tiger
by blocking open spaces thus adversely impacting the corridor functions of buffer forests. The
hotels continue to pollute the local environs with waste, deplete ground water resources and the
buffer zone forests to meet their energy demands. Benefits of tourism that accrue to local people
is hardly discernible as only a trickle of the visitors' spending gets into the local economy, and

the direct employment that a handful of locals could eke out in a flourishing tourism business
doesn't seem to provide them any long term economic security. The positive signs are that there
is still enough scope for redeeming the situation and bring prosperity to the locals and enforce
some discipline in the ongoing haywire tourism development in fragile and sensitive tiger
reserves. A large number of hoteliers have expressed willingness to contribute to the
development of local villages and share profits with village institutions.

The study further reveals that there is an urgent need to come up with a comprehensive National
and state policy for Ecotourism as there is nothing worthwhile at present to lean on to ensure
effective implementation of ecotourism. To be effective, an Ecotourism Policy must clearly
outline the roles of all stakeholders, opportunities and options that may be available to locals to
participate in tourism, suggest

the

legislations that may be invoked to safeguard the

environment, and the ecology in and around the tiger reserves, indicate actions to regulate land
use in dispersal areas and corridors, The policy must also enunciate criteria and standards that
may be used in or around tiger reserves for selection of sites for tourism infrastructure and also
for design of buildings, use of ground water, energy conservation, water harvesting and
recycling, waste minimization and disposal, which should, in the course of time, become the
basis for accreditation/certification of tour operators and hoteliers.

This study has given good insights into the tourism management issues and the type and extent
of the problems that the tiger reserves are facing and would face in future. On the bases of this
knowledge an attempt is being made to suggest a framework for managing tourism in the tiger
reserves. The model that has emerged from this study explains the interventions and linkages that
must be developed to streamline tourism in a way that it infuses sustainability into the
unsustainable mass tourism development in the surrounds of the tiger reserve to become
responsible and sustainable nature based enterprise and modifies the wildlife tourism within the
tiger reserves to assimilate the characteristics of ecotourism.
How legitimate is tourism in Tiger reserves?
A tiger reserve has mainly two management units the core and the buffer and both has different
sets of goals and objectives. The objective of managing the core is to conserve the species and
areas of crucial conservation importance, while the buffer is managed to reconcile the conflicting
interests of resource use by forest dependent local people and wildlife conservation. The purpose
of the buffer is to act like a cushion to absorb shocks emanating from outside to protect and
4

retain the sanctity of the core. The buffer, thus, must be managed in a manner that it effectively
accommodates the needs of the local people and the wildlife dispersing out from the natal area the core (Compendium of Guidelines and Circulars issued by the Project Tiger Directorate,
Ministry of Environment & Forests, and November, 2004)
.
Here a question arises - where does 'tourism' fit in the management objectives of the tiger
reserve?
The policies and the management objectives lay down that tourism in tiger reserve is to be used
as a conservation tool to educate visitors and elicit public support of conservation rather than as a
commercial, resource degrading mass tourism operation. The First Tiger Task Force set up in
1972 initiated project tiger in India. One of the goals of tiger reserves mentioned in the original
Task Force report was: "To preserve for all times, area of such biological importance as a
national heritage for the benefit, education and enjoyment of people."

The Task Force Report, 1972, also visualised recreational use with certain caveat:
" Provide long term conservation of biotopes of which the tiger is an integral part.Creation
of tiger reserves must not be regarded as a cause to sterilise the areas as far as human use is
concerned. Regulated scientific and educational use of the area should be made. Recreational use
will be permitted provided it is controlled and complementary to the principal object of
management. In case of doubt conservation of the biotope shall take priority. Other forms of
human disturbance, however, such as commercial felling, collection of minor forest produce,
mining, excessive traffic, heavy grazing by domestic livestock are clearly detrimental and must
be phased out for complete elimination."
Later, the only comprehensive policy on wildlife conservation in the country the National
Wildlife Action plan, 1983 ( revised 2002-16) provided definite objectives and direction to
tourism happening in all categories of protected areas and that are

Regulated, low-impact tourism has the potential to be a vital conservation tool as it

helps win public support for wildlife conservation.
In case of any conflict between tourism and conservation interests of a PA, the
paradigm for decision must be that tourism exists for the parks and not parks for
tourism, and that
Tourism demands must be subservient to and in consonance with the conservation
interests of PA and all wildlife.
While revenues earned from tourism can help the management of the PA,
maximisation of income must never become the main goal of tourism, which should
remain essentially to impart education and respect for nature."

It is therefore natural and legitimate for the tiger reserves in India to permit recreational use in a
strictly controlled manner.
It is noteworthy that when tiger reserves were first constituted in 1973 till the amendment of the
Wildlife (Protection Act) in 2006 , a tiger reserve was a recognition given to either national

park or sanctuary as an area important for conservation of tiger which was adjudged eligible for
receiving financial and technical support from Project Tiger ( now NTCA) , GoI. After 2006
amendment the tiger reserves have received legal status as a separate category of protected areas
with two distinct management unit a core and a buffer. Obviously, when the task force reports
came any reference to tourism in those report meant tourism within the national park or
sanctuary ( now designated as core under 38 V of the amended Wildlife protection) Act.
Unfortunately, in last one decade or so, unplanned and unregulated growth of tourism
infrastructure around tiger reserves has become an emergent threat to tiger as its dispersal areas
and corridors; these areas already choked with present and expanding villages, roads and canals,
mines and industries, are now threatened by the proliferation of new hotels and large resorts with
their huge fenced premises that not only occupy critical movement corridors but are also a
constant source of disturbance, pollution and depletion of the forests and ground water resources
that belong to the local people. Inside, in tourism zones lack of appropriate planning that include
- setting desired ecological and social conditions that should be maintained as a goal of
management of the reserve, determining indicators to monitor changes, and poor law
enforcement impact tiger and its habitat and prey.
The National Wildlife action Plan 2002-16 prescribes implementation of 'Ecotourism' in
protected areas. The National Tiger Conservation Authority also advocates the same, but as
tourism, in well-know in the tiger Reserves of today, has a history older than the concepts like
sustainable tourism and ecotourism, most PAs suffer from the ills of traditional mass tourism that
hardly cares for the environment, the ecology or the interests of local people. The way things are
today, only implementation of ecotourism in its truest spirit can save these precious areas from a
certain doom.
There is a globally emerging consensus that ecotourism seeks to combine conservation,
communities, and sustainable travel into one workable whole. This happens when those who
wish to implement and participate in ecotourism activities adhere to the following ecotourism
principles:

1. minimize negative impacts of tourism linked development and activities of visitors on the
environment, ecology and local cultures
2. build awareness and respect for environment and culture ensure that both visitors and
hosts receive positive experiences
3. develop methods and mechanisms to direct sustainable financial benefits to local people
and local economy
4. provide financial benefits for conservation of natural resources on which tourism
depends.
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5. raise sensitivity to host countries' political, environmental, and social climate.

Unplanned development of tourism always results in attrition of the resources, adversely impacts
wildlife habitats and finally leads to dissatisfaction of visitors and earns a bad name for the
protected area and the government. Increasing and unrestricted use of local resources such as
land, ground water and firewood has both social repercussions and adverse ecological impacts.
Escalation of prices of land and commodities owing to tourism growth in a region may bring
about serious hardships to local people, for example the in many East African parks poor
sanitation results in the disposal of campsite sewage in rivers, contaminating the water that is
used by wildlife, livestock, and people. The failure to manage impacts at Mount Kilimanjaro
national park (Tanzania) of large number of tourists has resulted in extensive erosion and
degradation of trails, overflow of sewage from huts, accumulation of garbage, use of fuel wood
for cooking, and overbooking resulting in use of natural caves for shelter. Harcourt and Stewart
(1993) observed that impacts include amongst other things, damage to endemic plants, lowering
of water quality, and loss of aesthetic value Besides, the irresponsible dumping of kitchen waste
transforms wild animals into scavengers; in 1993, two visitors counted nearly 4500 pieces of
rubbish, comprising wrappers, cigarette packets, toilet papers and plastic items, along a 10 km
stretch of trail, or 450 items per km. This estimate did not include rubbish hidden under bushes.
The same situation exists around several protected areas in India.(in Madhya Pradesh the worst
hit location is Delawadi, Bharka tunda in Madhav national park, The Shesh sayya to Fort temple
trail in Bandhavgarh are glaring exampled of starting certain visitor activities without planning).
The threat from tourism has aggravated in recent years as hotels and their huge fenced premises
around tiger reserves, have cut off corridors and potential dispersal areas.. Around well-known
tiger reserves numerous hotels are already operating and several new hotels are in the pipeline. A
large number of hotels and eateries in remote locations also exert demands on already burdened
buffer forests for supply of firewood further degrading the buffer forests. The lands on which
these hotels are built mostly belong to the poor forest side tribal people, who attracted by lure of
money sell these lands and become landless labourers. Such development is in nobody's
(hoteliers, tour operators, locals and the protected area) interest and therefore, unsustainable.
Though, today Ecotourism is considered the most rapidly expanding sectors of the travel
industry. And it is being promoted by many as a way to achieve environmental conservation
objectives and as a tool for sustainable development of remotely situated host communities, little
effort is visible in the Tiger reserves towards involving and benefiting forest dependent local
people who are not well disposed towards protected area owing to resource use conflicts.
Tourism Management capacity in most PA is sub optimal. Protection staff gets diverted to
tourism management. As tourism management requires different skills, the quality of output by
forest functionaries does not always lead to visitor satisfaction. Though the management plans
exist, there is hardly any detailed planning for visitor management and visitor use of the area.

Unfortunately, despite the policies that advocate implementation of Ecotourism for managing
tourism in tiger reserves, the rapid commercialization has raised serious concerns.
The controversial Tiger show:
'Tiger show' the deliberate pursuit of tigers to show them to the visitors is an activity not
common in majority of the tiger reserves all across the country. In Madhya Pradesh this activity
is being pursued in Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Pench Tiger reserve. There is an urgent need to
manage tiger-show to stop harassment to tigers. The study by author revealed that in Kanha only
21% of the visiting public could actually avail the tiger show but this small percent of visitors
did create a ruckus nevertheless.
In a study conducted by the author in Kanha and Pench Tiger reserves (2008-2010), 52 % of
visitors to Kanha tiger reserve (n=320) stated that they wouldn't be satisfied if they failed to see a
tiger in the reserve, for remaining 48 % other aspects of nature in the reserve were equally
important. 78.1 % of the foreign visitors (n=32) stated that they wouldn't mind if they don't see a
tiger in the reserve as other aspects of nature in the reserve were equally important to them. For
remaining 21 % tiger sighting was critical for their satisfaction.
Tigers appear to be the prime object of adverts published by the hotels and tourism department to
lure visitors to the reserve. The elephant ride permitted in the notified rules (before 2009) was
unofficially christened ' Tiger show' (later in 2010, the rule were amended to include the word
'Tiger Show' under the activity-'Elephant ride'). The practice of tracking tiger by trained
elephants and mahouts for the purpose of showing them to visitors began in early eighties. It was
only curtailed for a brief period during 1995-96 following protest from some conservationists.
Several guidelines have been issued from time to time by the National Tiger Conservation
Authority and the Chief Wildlife Warden of Madhya Pradesh to regulate tiger shows in a manner
that it exerts least impact on the tigers' behaviour and avoids disrupting its normal activities
Many visitors, field personnel and guides complain about mismanagement during tiger show.
The animal's movement gets restricted and a lot of ruckus is created by taxis and tourists once a
wireless message is flashed about tiger's presence. Photographic evidence confirms that the
directions of NTCA and CWLW that mandates maintaining at least 30 meter distance from the
animal during viewing and at least 500 meters between two vehicles are followed mostly in
breach. There are numerous photographs shot by visiting public that shows how the code of
conduct prescribed through mandatory instructions issued by the CWLW and NTCA is often
ignored.
Majority of visitors to Kanha (78%) and Pench (35%) feel that overcrowding due to visitors and
vehicles is major negative impact of tourism followed by garbage and litter, noise pollution from
too many vehicles, too much dust, disruption of tiger show due to VIPs visit, and overcrowding
at Kanha canteen (where tiger show tickets are issued). 35 % of the field personnel from Kanha,
Pench and Bandhavgarh consider crowding and pollution as major negative impact of tourism
inside the reserves. They feel that the rapid growth in tourism has resulted in overcrowding,
pollution and disturbance to wild animals, continuous exposure of tiger to humans may make
them vulnerable to poaching. Some of them believe that the pollution due to vehicles and
garbage thrown by the visitors are adversely impacting health of wild animals and large number

of visitors has exposed the reserve and wildlife to all kinds of threats. Majority of the field
personnel also feels that they are under pressure to ensure tiger sighting for visitors. Some of
them believe that the awareness programme should address the locals, too.
The management needs to wean away tourists from tigers and facilitate their indulgence in less
intensive and relaxing activities like bird watching, understanding various types of habitats and
the rich biodiversity of the areas .This would need a detailed planning and management system
in place to ensure minimum adverse impact of such activity, a mitigation strategy and a strong
interpretation programme- both personal services excellent interpreters and visitor relation
personnel and unattended services- like interpretation centres, wayside signages, nature trails
and good easy to grasp and attractive publications brochures and handouts.

The present scenario of tourism in the tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh

Unsustainable growth in Visitor Number
Visitation Scenario
An analysis of the data pertaining to visitation to Kanha tiger reserve from tourist season 198687 to 2008-09 reveal that from tourist season 1986-87 to the end of tourist season 2003-04
domestic visitation grew by 50.51% and visitation by foreign tourists grew by 111% over a
period of 17 years. Since the end of tourist season 2003-04 (67971 visitor entries), just over a
span of six years, the tiger reserve has experienced rapid growth in total visitation - by domestic
and foreign tourists registering a 102% increase by the end of tourist season 2008-09 (137295
visitor entries). Interestingly, the growth in visitation by foreign tourists has been 550% over this
period (2970 visitors in 2003-04 and 19293 visitors in 2009) while the domestic visitation grew
by 91.63% .

The visitor figures maintained by the reserve is, in fact visitation figures based on the tickets
issued for two rounds (morning and evening) and therefore do not represent the exact number of
tourists. The proportion of repeat visitors (considering those who take two rounds in one day) has
been calculated from the daily entry receipts of 5 months of tourist season 2009-10 and the
percentage of visitors who went for two rounds was found to be 19%. Considering this as well as
assuming that visitors stay only for one night and don't take more than two rounds the number of
tourists visiting Kanha tiger reserve comes to about 111209. Among all visitors the day visitors
constitute only 10.8%.
Though the Pench national park was created in 1983 and received the status of tiger reserve in
1992, tourism remained a low key activity till the year 2000. It was only after the management
deliberately advertised this reserve as Mowgli land and created some infrastructure for overnight
stay at Karmajhiri that the tourism began to pick up bringing in its wake not only tourists but a
horde of businessmen who set up camp outside the Turia entry gate and built several hotels
within a few years.

10

From a mere 182 the Indian visitors consisting of weekend day visitors from Nagpur and Seoni
in 1985-86 the visitation grew to 3579 in 1992-93 and then dropped again to around a thousand
visitors up till 1999-2000 and then jumped suddenly to 5274 in 2000-2001. The growth of
Visitation to the park since 1985-86 to 2008-09 is depicted in Figure - 8.2. From the tourist
season 1986-87 (1100 visitor entries) to 1999-2000 (1304 Visitor entry)) over a span of 24 years
the park remained predominantly a destination for domestic tourists and over this period the
growth of visitation was a nominal 18.54%. After year 2000 the scenario rapidly changed; the
reserve registered 5288 visitor entries (5274 domestic and 14 foreign tourists) in 2000-2001 and
by the end of tourist season this figure grew to 64471 entries (59303 domestic and 5168 Foreign
tourists) registering an over all increase of 1119% over a period of 9 years. While domestic
visitation grew by 1025%, visitation by foreign tourist grew by 36814% over this period.
The visitor figures maintained by the reserve is, in fact visitation figures based on the tickets
issued for two rounds (morning and evening) and therefore do not represent the exact number of
tourists. The proportion of repeat visitors (considering those who take two rounds in one day) has
been calculated from the daily entry receipts of seven months of tourist season 2008-09 and the
percentage of visitors who went for two rounds was found to be 23.28%. Considering this as well
as assuming that visitors stay only for one night and don't take more than two rounds the number

11

of tourists visiting Pench comes to about 49462. The proportion of day visitors and overnight
visitors is 80:20.
In Bandhavgarh from 1985-86 to 2002-03 the total visitation had grown by 223% (domestic
visitation grew by 227.69% and visitation by foreign tourists grew by 195.04%) but after that
the scenario rapidly changed, by 2008-09 the total visitation has grown by 475.43% ; while the
growth in domestic visitation is around 380% visitation by foreign tourists has skyrocketed by
1194%.

Figure 8.3: Growth in Visitation to Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve since 1985

The field personnel, whose primary duty includes protection, maintenance and development of
the tiger reserve, are also engaged in management of tourism in the reserves An analysis of the
data pertaining to visitation to Kanha tiger reserve from tourist season 1986-87 to 2008-09
(Figure- 8.1) reveal that from tourist season 1986-87 to the end of tourist season 2003-04, over a
period of 17 years, domestic visitation grew by 50.51% and visitation by foreign tourists grew by
111% . Since the end of tourist season 2003-04 (67971 visitor entries), just over a span of six
years, the tiger reserve has experienced rapid growth in total visitation - by domestic and foreign
tourists registering a 102% increase by the end of tourist season 2008-09 (137295 visitor
entries). Interestingly, the growth in visitation by foreign tourists has been 550% over this period
(2970 visitors in 2003-04 and 19293 visitors in 2009) while the domestic visitation grew by
91.63%. But corresponding increase in the number of field staff critical for protection and
management has been only 41.42%.

12

In
Penc
h
Tiger reserve, from the tourist season 1986-87 (1100 visitor entries) to 1999-2000 (1304 Visitor
entry)) over a span of 24 years the park remained predominantly a destination for domestic
tourists and over this period the growth of visitation was 18.54%. In 2000-2001, the reserve
registered 5288 visitor entries (5274 domestic and 14 foreign tourists and by the end of tourist
season 2008-2009 this figure grew to 64471 visitor entries (59303 domestic and 5168 Foreign
tourists) registering an over all increase of 1119% over a short period of 9 years. But
corresponding increase in the number of field staff critical for protection and management has
been only 65.58%.

The present scenarios of tourism in and around the 5 tiger reserves of the state are explained in
the following model.

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8.1.5 Impacts of Hotels and resorts in the Buffer zone of Tiger Reserves
Tourist need accommodation at the site they are visiting therefore a potential tourist site always
attracts the hoteliers who want to make the most of it in places that are popular and happening.
Tourist infrastructure like hotels use huge amount of local natural resources like - ground water,
surface water, land, natural building material and energy, and also strain the civic amenities
such as public water supply, electricity, drainage, waste disposal systems, roads and so on (the
Report of the Tiger Task Force, Project Tiger, GoI, 2005). Such infrastructure, if not planned
properly and designed with due attention to the environment and ecology, may adversely impact
on ground water reserves, soil stability, forests and wildlife habitats by polluting it or by
usurping habitats used by wild animals for dispersal and movement.
The issue of proliferation of Hotels in the Buffer zone of Tiger reserve and its likely adverse
impacts on tribal people and the buffer forests has been raised by Field Directors of Kanha tiger
reserve since 1987. A memo sent by the Field Director to the Chief Wildlife Warden of the state
in 27 July 1987 that amply highlights this issue is reproduced below:
"
. Cottages, lodges and boarding houses of all sorts and all standards are coming up like
mushrooms in Khatia-Mocha villages just on the outskirt of the park. This activity involves
surreptitious usurpation of Adivasi land, illegal authorised diversion of land, benami transaction
in land and encroachment on government land. People of different hues and colours - poor and
rich, innocent and unscrupulous are involved in this. The matter was brought to the notice of
Collector, Mandla but to no avail. On the contrary false case for illegal encroachment was
registered against the Field Director (and that to by name). There are reasons to believe that the
matter is either being suppressed systematically or the transactions and diversion are being
stealthily regularized. The persons and parties involved are going ahead with erection of
structures unabated and unabashed.
These Unauthorised lodges /boarding houses will not only compete with the M.P. State Tourism
Development Corporations but are also likely to get involved in unfair competition amongst
themselves with no hold barred. In the process the social, economic and cultural atmosphere of
the area is being vitiated and they are likely to pass or create problems of Law and order in not
too distant future.
This is not a creation of asset by way of extra or additional accommodation but it will lead to
unwanted increase in tourist traffic to park and the tourist management will crumble.
The private lodges /boarding houses are first likely to fall upon the government forests for fuel
wood and subsequently they may fall upon the park both for fuel and flesh. The environment as it
is, already under stress."

14

In 2008, the field director Kanha wrote twice to the Commissioner, Jabalpur to intervene and put
restrictions on unfettered construction of hotel all along the Banjar river in the buffer zone. In his
letter he highlighted the impacts that such unregulated contractions have brought in their wake
such as silting up of Banjar, disturbance to wildlife, girdling of trees in order to easily fell them
and blocking of dispersal habitats and movement corridors for tigers and other animals (FD
Kanha's letters No. DM/66 dated 8-1-2008, No. 882, dated 25.3.2008 and DM/1975, dated
29.7.2008.) . Unfortunately there was no response to his appeal.
Both Kanha and Pench Tiger reserves are now world famous wildlife destinations, hence attract
a large number of both domestic and foreign tourists annually. In this study 36 out of total 48
hotels (75%) operating around Kanha tiger reserve in 2009 and 11 out of 13 hotels (85%)
operating around Pench tiger reserve in 2009 were surveyed through a questionnaire survey to
ascertain their attitude towards and implementation of practices that foster sustainability of their
operations in terms of resource use, garbage and sewage disposal, conservation of water and
energy and mitigation of emission. The questionnaire survey also aimed at understanding their
relationship with local communities and their effort to provide jobs to locals bolster local
economy and/ or support local communities. Further, the questionnaire gathered information
about number of beds, types of clientele, occupancy, and duration of stay, duration of operation
in a year, and income and expenditure in order to ascertain volume of tourists and money
flowing into the hotel business and to find out the level of waste produced, water consumed and
emission produced over one tourist season.
Kanha Tiger Reserve
There are 36 Hotels/ Resorts around Khatia entrance in Khatia and Mocha villages (2009) in the
buffer zone of Kanha tiger reserve and 12 hotels around Mukki entrance. The first hotel was built
in 1979 and till the year 1999 the scenario of disturbance around core was not so alarming with
only 11 hotels in Khatia village and 2 hotels in Mukki village. But starting from the year 2000
hotels and resorts began springing up like mushrooms and within last 10 years 23 new hotels
have come up around Khatia entrance and 10 around Mukki entrance. In fact the real impetus in
hotel building took place after 2003 as 15 hotels around Khatia and 10 around Mukki were built
by private business over last three years. In 2009, 21 new hotels were under construction (15
around Khatia and 6 around Mukki). These hotels are located within a distance that varies from
0.5 km to 3.5 km from the core of the tiger reserve.

15

Figure 8.23:
Existing and hotels under Construction in 2009 in
Kanha Tiger Reserve's Buffer Area.

16

Figure 8.24:
Hotels Constructed in the Buffer Zone of Kanha TR since 1979
and hotels under Construction in 2009

The old management plan, operative over a period of 5 years from 2000-2001 to 2004-05),
describes tourism as being a low key activity consisting of mostly day visitors from Nagpur and
just about

20% overnight visitors staying in

rest houses

at

Karmajhiri, Khawasa and

Ghatkohka, which were the only accommodation available to tourists, ten years back. Only a few
visitors used to stay at the bison tourist resort at Rukhad on the national Highway 7, about 32
kms away from the main entrance. This resort is being managed by the MP Tourism
Development Corporation.
The scenario began to change by 2002 when attracted by the newfound openness of the Tiger
reserve management to tourism and deliberate marketing as Pench being the home of Rudyard
Kipling's famous wolf-kid Mowgli, the private business began to purchase chunks of lands from
local marginal farmers and started building their huge resource intensive resorts and hotels.

By the time the writing of the current management plan began in 2004-05 the scenario had
totally changed and several tourist resorts and hotels had sprung up in Turia, Avarghani & Kohka
making available to tourists some 480 bed nights. Forest rest houses provided about 38 beds.
In 2009 this figure has more than doubled with 13 resorts and hotels that provide 480/bed nights,
while the tiger reserve now provides 50 beds/ night. 19 new hotels are under construction within
0.5-3 kms of the core boundary.

17

Figure 8.25:
Hotels Constructed in the Buffer Zone of Pench TR since 2001
and hotels under Construction in 2009

Since 2002 the hotel numbers in the buffer grew by 152% in Kanha tiger reserve and by 333%.
in Pench Tiger reserve.

8.1.5.1

Environmental impacts of hotels and accommodations run by the

tiger reserves

8.1.5.1.1

Unsustainable extraction of Ground water

One month data of ground water extraction by 3 hotels around Kanha tiger reserve were
collected and analysed. The analysis reveals that on an average each hotel is extracting 10570
1125 litres of ground water per day (Median 10000, SD 737872, Minimum1100 litres and

18

maximum 25000 liters). Ground water is utilized for numerous purposes such as maintenance of
lawns and grounds, swimming pool, laundry, cleaning and washing of utensils, rooms, toilets,
vehicles, and kitchen. The calculated total ground water extraction by the 48 hotels operating
around Kanha tiger reserve in 2009 over the entire tourist season (273 days) is estimated to be
138496176 litres.
The water use was also calculated from the response of hoteliers (n=26) in questionnaire survey.
The analysis reveals that per day /room consumption of water is 729.73123.23 litres (Md 600
liters, Minimum100 litres and maximum 2500 liters SD = 628.36,). The total water use by 48
hotels was calculated to be 147420055 litres for 740 rooms over 273 days. Water use in hotels
varies, but most studies indicate hotels use between 100 (378 US litres approx.) and 200 (757 US
litres approx). gallons of fresh water per occupied guestroom per day. This averages out to about
36,500 to 73,000 gallons of water per room per year. (Reichardt Klaus, 2007)
Water use audits in Jamaica by Hagler Bailly Services, Inc,1999 for Green Globe found that the
water use in various sizes of property varied from 116 US gallons per room per day to 150 USG
(568 litres) in hotels with more than 150 rooms (Meade, B. 1999).. The water use /room/day
figures calculated for Kanha has been found 28.35% higher than the average calculated in
Jamaica study.
One month data of ground water extraction by 3 hotels around Kanha tiger reserve data was used
to analyse ground water extraction by all 13 hotels of Pench tiger reserve over the entire year as
64% of the hotels operate throughout the year, the calculated total ground water extraction by the
13 hotels around Pench tiger reserve in 2009 over the entire year is estimated to be 50154650
litres.
The water use was also calculated from the responses of hoteliers from around Kanha tiger
reserve (n=26) in questionnaire survey. 40% hotels (n=6) reported consuming ground water
between 700-2500 Litres per day, another 40% consumed between 4000 to 5000 litres/day, rest
20% reported consuming 10000 litres of ground water per day. The mean water consumption by
all hotels comes to around 4033.33 litres/day (Md 3250 litres, Min 700 litres, Max 10000 litres
SD =3290.39005).

19

The analysis of this data reveals that mean per day / hotel room consumption of water is
729.73123.23 (Md 600 liters, Minimum100 litres and maximum 2500 liters SD = 628.36,). This
data was used to calculate total water consumption for 220 rooms of 13 hotels of Pench tiger
reserve for the entire year. The total water use by 13 hotels was calculated to be 58597319 litres.
Studies undertaken by Hagler Bailly Services, Inc. in 20 Jamaican hotels also revealed that a 64
percent increase in the water use index was triggered by a 57 percent drop in occupancy, thus
suggesting that the water used by the individual guests in this hotel was small compared to the
volume of water consumed by the staff in the propertys background activities. These activities
are maintenance of lawns and grounds, swimming pool, laundry, cleaning and washing of
utensils, rooms, toilets, vehicles, and kitchen (Meade, B.1999). This means that even when 36%
hotels around Pench tiger reserve remain closed for three months each year, they, too, consume
ground water throughout the year.

8.1.5.1.1.1 Water Use by Accommodations of Tiger Reserves

Data of ground water extraction by the accommodations run by the Kanha tiger reserve was
collected during this study over a 107 days period(16March 2009 to 11 March 2010) The
analysis revealed that per room day consumption of water was 298.13 litres (Md-250 ltrs, Min80 ltrs, Max-800 ltrs SD =168.5573). Using the median value,

the total yearly ground water

extraction is around 40,26,750 litres for 59 rooms available in all accommodations provided by
the Kanha tiger reserve and around 34,12,500 ltrs/annum for all 50 rooms available at Pench
tiger reserve .

20

8.1.5.1.1.2 Waste production by Hotels around Kanha and Pench Tiger

Reserves
An international study on waste generation by hotels was carried out by Hurco Jomco
Associates, LLC. prepared for the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism and USAID,
Bureau of Latin America and Caribbean under the Free Trade Expansion (Downing, T.J. et al,
June1999, Activity Report No.68, Solid Waste Audit of Hotels in Dominica, Punta Cana
Regions,
In this study a large number of hotel rooms (n=1510) in 4 small hotels (rooms 154) in
Dominica and St. Lucia, 1 medium hotel (rooms -102) in St. Lucia and 3 large resorts in Punta
Cana region of Dominican Republic (rooms -1668) were sampled for waste generation/guest
/day. This study estimated an average production of waste to be 2.99 .20 kg per guest per day.
Table 8.3: Average Waste Produced by Tourists /day

Average Waste
produced by
tourists/Day

St.Lucia

Dominca

3.08.36kg

2.29.31

Punta Cana
Region
Dominican
Republic
3.62.38kg

Average
2.99.20
kg

Source: Activity Report No.68, Solid Waste Audit of Hotels in Dominica, Punta Cana Regions,
The share of inorganic (metal, paper, glass, plastic) and organic (green) waste, in this average
solid waste is shown in Table 8.4.
Table 8.4: Composition of Wastes/Tourist/Day and Their Respective Weights(Kg)

Solid Waste per visitor per day

Waste
Kg.
Metal
0.033
Paper
0.204
Glass
0.211
Plastic
0.017
Organic (green)
1.961
Other
0.567
Total
2.993

21

Using this estimate, in the present study, an approximate production of waste has been calculated
for tourists visiting Kanha and Pench Tiger reserves and availing hotel accommodation for one
or more days (Table- 8.5 and 8.6).
Table 8.5: Waste Produced by Tourists in Kanha Tiger Reserve

Actual
Visitor
entries
2008-09
Kanha
actual
visitor
number in
2008-09

137295

Visitors
Waste
staying at Visitors actually
generation
least 1 or
availing
per
more than Accommodation
guest/day(kg)
1 day
89%

120820

2.9920

Total waste
generated
by hotel
guests over
273
days(kg)
361251

Table 8.6: Waste Produced by Tourists in Pench Tiger Reserve

Actual
Visitor
entries
2008-09
Pench
actual
visitor
number in
2008-09

64471

Visitors
Waste
staying at Visitors actually
generation
least 1 or
availing
per
more than Accommodation
guest/day(kg)
1 day
88%

56734

2.9920

Total waste
generated
by hotel
guests over
273
days(kg)
169634

Besides the above extrapolation based on previous research elsewhere, actual waste production
data were also collected over a period of 15 days from two hotels (total 36 rooms) operating
around Kanha tiger reserve. Analysis of this data reveals that the average production of solid
waste per room/day is 2.71.60 (Md 1.83 kg, min 0.60 kg. and max 20 kg, SD = 3.50). The
average was calculated taking into account the number of rooms occupied by guests (at average
occupancy of 35% through out the tourist season). Extrapolating this average to 740 rooms of 48
hotels operating around Kanha tiger reserve the total waste generation of 273 days for 2009 is
estimated at 191616 kg approx.

22

Assuming 100% occupancy of rooms in all hotels around Kanha tiger reserves the estimated
waste generation per hotel/ day and for all 740 rooms of all the 48 hotels around Kanha tiger
reserve

over 273 days (one tourist Season) are

2005.4474 / day/740 rooms and

547.474mt129 mt/ for 273 days and 740 rooms.

Extrapolating the average for 220 rooms of 13 hotels around Pench tiger reserves (at average
occupancy 46%) is estimated at 7472316577 kg. Assuming 100% occupancy of rooms and the
fact that 64% of the hotels reported year around operation the estimated per day waste generation
estimate for all 220 rooms is 596.2141 kg and for all 13 hotels around Pench tiger reserve
over 365 days is calculated to be 217.613mt approx. (217.61mt51mt)
Average organic (green) waste production/guest/day is 1.810.487 kg (Med 1.14 kg min 0.45 kg
and max 15 kg, SD = 2.64813612), while average other solid waste including glass, paper,
plastic and metal is 0.890.174 kg. (Md 0.45 kg, min 0.15 kg and max 5 kg, SD = 0.9575614,)

8.1.5.1.1.3 Waste produced by tiger reserve accommodations

To find out the quantity of waste produced by tourists accommodations managed by the tiger
reserve data was collected over a period of 5 months (16 October, 2009 to 15 February 2010) at
Kisli forest rest house. The analysis of this data reveals that each occupied room produces 1.45
kg of solid waste/day (Md 1.3 kg., Min 0.12 kg., Max 3.6 kg., SD = 0.660058008). Extrapolating
this data for 59 rooms (provided by Kanha tiger reserve to tourists) for a period of 273 days (the
entire tourist season) the total solid waste produced by tourist accommodations per season was
calculated to be 23999.43 kg(24 mt/season) and for 50 rooms of Pench tiger reserve it is
19792.5 kg/season (29 mt/season).

8.1.5.1.1.4 Waste disposal by hotels and tiger reserve management

In Kanha tiger reserve, 79.4% of the surveyed hotel (n=34) that constitute 71% of all existing
hotels reported improper means of disposing off solid waste produced by them. The methods
used by hotels for disposing off waste are depicted in Figure- 8.26.

23

Figure 8.26:
Methods adopted by Hotels around Kanha TR to of Dispose off Solid Wastes

90% of the surveyed hotel (n=10) that constitute 77% of all existing hotels around Pench tiger
reserve reported improper means of disposing off solid waste produced by them. The methods
used by hotels for disposing off waste is depicted in the Figure 8.27.

24

Figure 8.27:
Methods adopted by Hotels around Pench TR to of Dispose off Solid Wastes

The field director of both Kanha tiger reserve and Pench tiger reserve and the other three tiger reserve
reported that for accommodations managed by the reserves the method of disposal of the solid waste is
burning the plastic and poly bags and burying the rest of the solid waste in pits dug for this purpose inside
the premises of the accommodations.
Waste disposal by Dhabas (eateries)
86% of the surveyed hotel (n=7) that constitute 70% of all existing dhaba around Kanha tiger reserve
reported improper means of disposing off solid waste produced by them.Regarding green waste disposal
57% of the hotels (n=7) answered reported just throwing away the green waste while 43% said that they
fed it to the animals.

25

8.1.5.1.2

Status of reuse/ recycling of Solid waste (tin, glass, plastic waste,

paper, containers, etc.) and green waste (kitchen waste) and Grey
water.

34.4% of Hotels (n=32) around Kanha tiger reserve, reported that they recycle tin, glass and plastic waste
but 65.6% don't recycle the waste at all. Only 13 out of 36 (36.11%) have some sort of recycling;
69.23% of those hotels (n= 13)that reported recycling said that they have hired a contractor to collect
and take the solid waste away for recycling, 7.69% answered that they do the recycling themselves and
23% transport it to the recycling centre. The last two answers 'recycling themselves' and 'transporting
waste to recycling plant' seem untenable as there is no facility nearby for recycling plastic, tin and wastes.

Regarding green waste disposal 60% of the hotels (n=33) answered that they make compost out
of it, while remaining 39.4% reported just dumping green waste in the backyard. Regarding
recycling of grey water 62.69% of the hotels (n=35) reported using it for watering their garden,
25.7% candidly accepted not recycling grey water and only 11.4% answered that they purify
reuse it.
33.3% Of Hotels (n=9), around Pench tiger reserve, reported that they recycle tin, glass and
plastic waste but 66.7% didn't recycle the waste at all. Only 3 out of 13 (23%) have some sort of
recycling out of these 66.7% of the hotels reported that they have hired a contractor who
collects and take it away for recycling, 33.3% transport it to the recycling centre. The last answer
'transporting waste to recycling centre' seem untenable as there is no facility nearby for
recycling plastic, tin and wastes. Regarding green waste disposal 72.7% of the hotels (n=11)
answered that they make compost out of it, while remaining 27.3% reported just dumping green
waste in the backyard. Regarding recycling of grey water 20% of the hotels (n=10) reported
using it for watering their garden, 70% candidly accepted not recycling grey water they let it
drain into nearby water course nala/stream, and only 10% answered that they either use the
grey water for watering their gardens or let it drain into nearby water course. None of the tiger
reserves recycle or reuse solid waste or waste water.

8.1.5.1.3

CO2 Emissions by Hotels

A study of hotels commissioned by environmental Protection agency USA associated with a one
night stay in a hotel rooms calculated emission at 29.53 kg CO2 per room/ day for an average
hotel. For upscale hotels, emissions are calculated at 33.38 kg CO2 per room day. (Source:
Energy and Environmental Analysis, Inc. for EPA, 2005).

26

Taking this study as baseline (29.53 kg CO2 per room day) an estimation of CO2 emission by
operational 48 hotels (740 rooms) around Kanha tiger reserve was calculated. In one tourist
season the total CO2 emission from 44 hotels is estimated at 6743.42 mt CO2.
For 13 hotels (220 rooms) around Pench tiger reserve the total CO2 emission was calculated is
estimated at 2371.25 mt CO2/annum

8.1.5.1.3.1 Vehicular emissions by Tourist taxis

Number and types of taxis registered and surveyed
In 2009, 136 (Khatia-87 and Mukki-49) private vehicles were registered with the Kanha tiger
reserve and 59 with Pench tiger reserve as tourist taxis to carry tourists into the reserves. In
Kanha tiger reserve Out of 136 taxis the questionnaire survey covered 92 (69%) registered taxi
owners/ drivers. 99% of the taxis (n=136) are Maruti gypsy (petrol vehicle) with a capacity to
seat six including the driver, remaining 1% are other special utility taxis (Inventor diesel
vehicle). In Pench tiger reserve out of 59 taxis questionnaire survey covered 43 (73%) registered
taxi owners/ drivers. Out of the 59 taxis 86% are Maruti gypsy (petrol driven) with a capacity to
seat six including the driver, remaining 14% are other special utility taxis (Tata safari and Bolero
diesel driven).
Average age of the taxis (n=87) plying within Kanha tiger reserve is 11.21 years (Md 11 years,
minimum 1 years, Max 23 years, SD = 6.320856). 69% of the taxis (n=87) are between 10 to 23
years old. Average age of the taxis use as taxi in Pench tiger reserve is 11 years (Md 11 years,
minimum 5 years, Max 22 years, SD = 5). 70% of the taxis (n=58) are between 10 to 22 years
old.
Inspection and certification

In Kanha tiger reserve 99% of the respondents (n=87) reported that their tourist taxis were
inspected and certified fit/unfit to ply in the reserve once in a year, 1% said that taxis were
inspected twice in a year.

27

In Pench Tiger reserve 53% of the respondents (n=38) reported that their tourist taxis were
inspected and certified fit/unfit to ply in the reserve twice in a year, 32% said that taxis were
inspected once in a year and rest 15% reported multiple inspection during a year.
The information provided by the taxi owners that the vehicles are inspected twice or more in a
year may be incorrect as the tiger project's management reported annual inspections every year
just before the onset on new tourist season from 1st October.
Analysis

Studies have shown that the emissions by the petrol-fueled vehicles mostly depend on the quality
of fuel, driving habits, road conditions, vehicle maintenance etc. Common pollutants emitted by
petrol vehicles are: Caron dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Hydrocarbons, Nitrous Oxide, Particulate
matters (Lead, organic particulate (including soot) and sulphate are the main constituents of
particulate matters, mostly comes from leaded petrol. Particulate matters can be significant when
poor maintenance or engine wear lead to high oil consumption), Toxic pollutants like Benzene,
1,3 butadiene and aldehydes are other toxic pollutants besides lead compounds (Rajbahak, H. L
et.al, 2001).
Studies have shown that old Maruti gypsy is capable of emitting a huge amount of pollutant. The
Table 8.7 depicts the level of pollutants released by one vintage (vintage-1991-1996), Maruti
Gypsy.

Source:

Tot. PAH
0.1577

Total
Aldehyde

Application
Vechile Models

0.0453

Acetal
dehyde
0.0109

Formal
dehyde
0.0181

1-3
Butadiene
0.1322

Benzene
0.2126

PM
0.008

CO2
95.65

Nox
0.95

CO

HC
0.84

BSII

4.75

<100
0cc

1991
to
1996

Fuel

Vintage

34

Passeng
er Cars
(Petrol)

Emission Factors
mg/km

g/km

Sub Category

Sr.
No.
(with
ref. to
report

Type of Veh.

Table 8.7: Pollutants emitted by Passenger Cars (Petrol)

Maruti Omni,
Maruti
Gypsy,
Premier Padmini,
Premier 118NE,
Ambassador etc.

Project Rep. No. AFI/2006/07/IOCL/Emission Factor Project/Final Report, August 17,

2007, ARAI, Pune, http://cpcb.nic.in/DRAFTREPORT-on-efdiv.pdf

28

Based the fact that most vehicles that ply as taxis in Kanha and Pench tiger reserves are very old
Maruti gypsy and that in 2009, total 28689 vehicles entered Kanha tiger reserve over 273 days
tourist season (105 vehicle /day on an average) and each vehicle covered 70 kms on an average
within the reserve, following amount of pollutants (CO, CO2, Hydrocarbons and Benzene) were
released over the entire tourist season besides other gases and particulates by the vehicles within
the natural environs of the Kanha tiger reserve (Table - 8.8).
Table 8.8:
Total Estimated Emission by Tourist Vehicles over Entire Tourist Season
(9 months) in Kanha TR

Pollutants
CO2
Co
Nox
HC
Benzene

Total emission/273 days by

28689 taxis (MT)
192.07
9.54
1.91
1.68
0.43

For Pench tiger reserve, where 12331 vehicles visited the reserve in 2009 (each vehicle trip
covers 60 km on an average). Table 8.9 depicts the quantity of various pollutants.
Table 8.9:
Total Estimated Emission by Tourist Vehicles over Entire Tourist Season
(9 months) in Pench TR

Pollutants (Pench TR)

Co2
Co
Nox
HC
Benzene

Total emission/273 days by

12331 taxis (MT)
70.50
3.50
0.70
0.62
0.15

Diesel engines have lower carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emission than the petrol vehicles
as diesel engine works with excess air and combustion occurs mostly around stoichiometric
mixture. Dust particles around the road surface significantly reduce the life of air filter besides
other adverse effects Emission test of a 2-year-old vehicle for finding out the pollution level, just
before undertaking the engine overhaul and just after engine overhaul may vary substantially,
meaning thereby that a vehicle that would have failed an emission test could pass the test if the
test was undertaken just after engine overhauling. The yearly testing and certification of taxis

29

conducted by the tiger reserve is therefore doesn't guarantee of the fitness of most of the older
taxis whose average age is 11 years. (Rajbahak, H.L. et.al,, 2001).
Most vehicles that ply as taxis in Kanha and Pench tiger reserves are very old Maruti gypsy that
do not use unleaded petrol, adding to the likelihood of high level of pollution in the natural
environs of the reserves, therefore a stricter testing of vehicles at least once in 3 months needs to
be put in place to ensure pollution free atmosphere in the reserve. As all the roads in the tiger
reserve are fair-weather dirt roads more frequent change of oil filters must be enforced.

8.1.5.1.4

Impact of Hotels on land use and Land sellers who sold their lands
to Hoteliers

An attempt was made to locate all the local villagers who have sold land to outsiders for the
purpose of building hotels around Kanha tiger reserve, The revenue department provided a list of
45 land sellers who had sold their lands to outsiders over a period from 2002 to 2008, 45 such
individuals were located from villages around Kanha tiger reserve and a questionnaire was
administered to all of them to ascertain the impact of selling land on their livelihood and
economic status. For Pench tiger reserve, the revenue department provided a list of 78 land
sellers who had sold their lands to outsiders over a period from 1998 to 2009. 40 out of those
were located from villages around Pench tiger reserve and a questionnaire was administered to
all of them to ascertain the impact of selling land on their livelihood and economic status. The
analysis of data is presented below, separately for both the reserves:
Land sellers of Kanha Buffer villages
50% of the surveyed land sellers (n=45) belonged to villages located from 0.0.5 km from the
tiger reserve core, 25% from a radius of 0.5- 2 Km. and rest 25% from a radius of 2-5 Km, from
the core of the tiger reserve. 75% of land transaction took place within a radius of 2 Km of the
Tiger reserve core out of which 50% happen to be within 0-0.5 km radius from the periphery of
the core. The satellite map shows location of the existing hotels and sold land.
Among the land sellers (n=45) the caste composition revealed that the largest number (57.78%)
belonged to the Backward classes (OBC) followed by Scheduled tribe (25.67%), others (11.11%)
and Scheduled caste (4.4%).

The family size varied from 1 (min) to 15 (max) with SD

=3.314632, Md = 6.
30

An analysis of livelihood revealed that out of the respondents (n=44) a large number of land
sellers (47.74%) were

exclusively dependent on daily wage works, 13.63% depended

exclusively on farming, 15.93% were primarily farmers but also had other sources of income like
poultry, bamboo cutting, and employment as guides, taxi drivers, and daily wage works, 9.08%
were employed as guides or as patrolling camp watchers with the tiger reserve, another 9.08%
owned small businesses such as dhabas (eatery),

petty contracts, local transport, dairy,

mechanical threshing of grains, and taxi service, 2.27% were employed by hotels and remaining
2.7% reported having no other source of income than the interest they got on the land sale
money deposited in the bank. Data also reveals that only 27.27% of the responding land sellers
had some occupation related to tourism.
Number of earning members in surveyed family (n=36) varied from 1 to 4. 36.11% reported 1
earning member another 36.11% reported 2, 22.22% reported 3 earning members and only 5.5%
had 4 earning members in the family.
Responding to the question whether the family migrated for work before selling their land, out of
the respondents (n=44) only 29.54% answered 'YES'. And in reply to another question whether
they still migrate among the respondents (n=36) only 10 (27.78%) answered 'YES'. This
indicates that selling land has not ameliorated the livelihood condition of the villagers.
Among those who migrated (n=7) for work sought work in near by towns in the state and in
adjoining states of Maharastra and Chhattisgarh. 73.44% of the migrating families reported that
their entire family migrates while rest 16.66% said that only husband and wife migrate. The
duration of migration varies from 2 to 9 months.
44% of the respondents (n= 43) said that by selling land to outsiders they have benefited while
56% said they did not benefit at all. The reasons cited by the respondents (n=23) as to the ways
in which they have benefited in response to the question- "in what ways they have benefited from
sale of land' is depicted in the Figure 8.28.

31

Figure 8.28: Benefits of Selling Lands to Hoteliers: Opinion of Land-sellers, Kanha TR

Losses from selling land

80% of the responding villagers (n=20) reported that they did suffer losses after selling their
land.
Nature of losses
Out of the 80% who responded 'YES' (n=17) to have incurred losses after selling land, gave
following reasons for incurring losses by selling their land (Figure- 8.29).

32

Figure 8.29:
Losses from Selling Lands to Hoteliers: Opinion of Land-sellers, Kanha TR

70.6% of the responding land sellers (n=17) reported that they regretted selling their land to
hoteliers, 5.88% said that they were offered jobs in the hotels by the purchasers/ brokers which
never materialized, 5.88% said that they couldn't get a job as they were illiterate, and 17.04 5
said that they were sweet-talked by the brokers into selling their lands at a low prices.
Reason for selling land
About the reason for selling their lands, 44.44% the respondents (n=9) cited crop damage by
wild animals, which deterred them to grow crops, 33.33% said that they were lured by land
brokers who offered jobs in hotels that never materialized, and rest 11.11% cited domestic
exigencies like marriage of daughter.
Land prices
The land prices reported by respondents (n=39) who had sold their lands to outsiders for hotel
building over a period from 2002 to 2008 is shown in the Table- 8.10.

33

Table 8.10:
Respective Land Prices obtained by Villagers of their lands in Kanha Buffer around the Three Entry
gates

Gates
Sarhi
gate
New2007
Mukki
Gate
Khatia
gate

Village
Sarhi,n=7

Mean
1.3959

Median
1.235

SD
0.975646

Minimum
0.29

Maximum
2.84

Mukki,n=14
Khatiya,n=2
Mocha,n=16

3.85
3.2
3.85

3.7
3.2
3.7

2.13871135
4.13933239
2.138711

0.29
4.19
1.23

7.41
4.94
7.41

The highest land prices are encountered in Khatia and Mocha that form the hub of tourism
related development around Kanha tiger reserve core area.The mean land price over a period of
seven years is Rs. 3.03 lakh/ hectare (Min Rs. 0.29, Max =9.88 lakh Md= Rs. 2.47 lakh per
hectare, SD =2.162744). The erratic land prices over the years are depicted in Figure 8.30,
n=35.

ANOVA
Figure 8.30: Erratic Variation in Land Prices (2002-2008), Kanha TR

34

There appears to be no significant relationship between land prices and the year of transactions
(df 6, F -1.028, Signf 0.428), this lead to only one logical inference that the land sellers (mostly
non-business minded villagers with least acumen for negotiating land prices) were duped by the
purchasers and brokers to sell their lands at less than the actual market price. Villagers in Mocha
are largely from the OBC (58.79%) and scheduled caste (14.18), only 5.40% tribal and rest
21.62% upper caste

while in Khatia the population consists of around 71% Scheduled Caste,

23.79% OBC, 1.76% scheduled tribe and 3.08 upper caste. Among the land sellers (n=45) the
caste composition revealed that the largest number of land sellers (57.78%) belonged to the
Backward classes (OBC) followed by Scheduled tribe (25.67%), others (11.11%) and Scheduled
caste (4.4%). In Khatia and Mocha villages the land prices appear to be better in comparison to
other villages of the buffer zone, this

may be because tourism development in these two

villages is around 30 years old making simple tribal people wiser and smarter .
50% of the land transactions took place within 0.05 Km of the boundary of the core of the tiger
reserve (Figure 8.11).
Table 8.11:
Land Transactions and the relative Distance of Such Lands
from the core Boundary, Kanha TR

Distance from core

0 to 0.5
0.5 to 2
2 to 5

Kanha TR
% of Total Transactions,
n=45
50%
25%
25%

Sold land area and land use (n=42)

Based on the information provided by the respondents (n=36) about the sale of land, 79.91
hectares of land was sold to outsiders from 2002 to 2008. The kind of land use, under which
these lands were before, its sale to outsiders, is represented in the Figure 8.31.

35

Figure 8.31: Land Use before Sale of Private lands to Hoteliers, Kanha TR Buffer

Remaining Agricultural land

53% of the respondents (n=45) reported that after selling their lands to outsiders they still have
some agricultural land for their use; rest 46.67% reported that they are now landless. The mean
land-holdings remaining with the villagers who have sold their land is 3.87 hectares/seller
(Min=0.89 hect., Max =28.75 Hect., Md = 1.65 hect. SD =1.653846).
Economic Condition of Land sellers before and after sale of land
The analysis of income of villagers who had sold their lands to outsiders revealed that most of
them belonged to economically weaker section of society, 20 land sellers out of 45 had no
income from the land they sold, 7 had income between Rs.1000-5000, 9 had income between Rs.
5000-10000, 3 had income between Rs.10000-20000, 3 had income between Rs. 20000-30000, 1
had income between Rs.30000-500000, and only 2 had income between 50000-100000, per
annum. The data in the following Table 10 highlights that before sale of land only 56%
respondents (n=25) had income from farming but after sale of land 32% of them lost farm
income. Of the remaining (44%), the economic status of 72%, in the income range from
Rs.1000-20000, remained almost unchanged; only 28% had marginal improvement in their
incomes. Out of those who had reported no income earlier, around 4% reported income after sale
of land from other occupations and interests on fixed deposits. The data shows that 32% land
sellers lost farm income after sale of land.
36

10000-20000

20000-30000

30000-50000

50000-100000

above 1 lakh

7
5
8

9
6
6

3
2
4

3
2
1

1
1
4

2
1
2

0
0
1

Number of
respondents
reporting
income

5000-10000

Total income before sale of land

Farm Income from remaining land
Present total income

1000-5000

Comparison of Income Ranges before and after sale of land

Land Sellers' Income, n=45
(frequency)

25
17
26

0 (No Income)

Table 8.12: Comparison of Income Ranges before and after Sale of land, Kanha TR

20
28
19

Figure 8.32:
Comparison of Income of Villagers before and after sale of their lands to Hoteliers. Kanha
TR

Illegal Transactions in Land in Kanha Buffer zone villages

The Govt. of MP, Revenue Department,G.O F-15-69/99 7-8: dated 23rd December,1999, (Figure
8.33)), has specified four revenue villages Khatiya, Mocha, Rata and Tatri (Mandla
District) close to the park entry point under Section-172 of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue

37

Code, 1959. This would necessitate an NOC from the authorities before a resident owners
change their land use from agriculture to others. This was an important initiative to ensure that
land use around the Tiger Reserve remains compatible to the conservation goals of the reserve
and the government, but the rapid proliferation of hotels especially in Khatia and Mocha
indicates that the development around Kanha tiger reserve has not progressed according to law.

38

Figure 8.33:
Circular (G.O F-15-69/99 7-8: dated 23rd December, 1999):
Notified villages around Kanha TR

Status of Land sellers of Pench Buffer villages

A total 78 land sales have taken place in Turia, Kohka and avargahni villages (Based on
information obtained from the Revenue Department, 2009)
29% of the surveyed land sellers (n=40) belonged to villages located from 0.0.5 km from the
tiger reserve core, 28% from a radius of 0.5- 2 Km, 29% from a radius of 2-5 Km, and 14%
beyond 5 km from the core of the tiger reserve. 57% of the total land transactions (n=40) took
place within a radius of 2 Km of the Tiger reserve core out of which 29% happen to be within 00.5 km radius from the periphery of the core. The satellite map shows location of the existing
hotels and sold land.
Among the land sellers (n=40) the caste composition revealed that the largest number (35%)
belonged to the Scheduled tribe followed by Other Backward Classes

(27.5%), other castes

(30%) and Scheduled caste (7.5%). The family size varied from 1 (min) to 18 (max) with SD
=3.74302774, Md = 6).
An analysis of livelihood revealed that out of the respondents (n=39) a large number of land
sellers (25.64%) were

exclusively dependent on daily wage works, 17.94% depended

exclusively on farming, 7.69% were government servants, 30.76% were primarily farmers but
also had other sources of income like government service, tourist taxi business, fixed deposit
interest and daily wage work, 7.7% had shops and business such as cloth shop, betel shop and
land brokerage, 5.2% owned taxies, 2.57% were employed in hotels, while remaining 2.57%
reported that they had no permanent source of livelihood. Data reveals that only 18% of the land
seller has occupations related to tourism business.
Number of earning members in surveyed family (n=39) varied from 1 to 7. 58.98% reported 1
earning member another 25.65% reported 2, 10.25% reported 3 earning members, 2.56%
reported 6 and another 2.56% had 7 earning members in the family.

39

Responding to the question whether the family migrated for work before selling their land, out of
the respondents (n=39) only 28.2% answered 'YES'. And in reply to another question whether
they still migrate among the respondents (n=34) only 10 (17.64% ) answered 'YES'. This
indicates that selling land has not greatly ameliorated the livelihood condition of the villagers.
Among those who migrated (n=12) to Umaria district in Madhya Pradesh for work. 50%
reported migrating alone, 33% said that only husband and wife migrate and rest 17% of the
migrating families reported that their entire family migrates. The duration of migration varies
from 4 to 12 months.
66% of the respondents (n=38) said that by selling land to outsiders they have benefited while
34% said they did not benefit at all. The reasons cited by the respondents (n=21) as to the ways
in which they have benefited in response to the question- "in what ways they have benefited from
sale of land' is depicted in the Figure -8.34.

Figure 8.34: Benefits of Selling Lands to Hoteliers: Opinion of Land-sellers, Pench TR

Losses from selling land and Nature of losses

40

50% of the responding villages (n=20) reported that they did suffer loss after selling their land.
Nature of losses
Out of 12 land sellers out of 20 who responded 'YES' to have incurred losses after selling land,
gave following reasons for incurring losses, Figure 8.35.

Figure 8.35: Losses from Selling Lands to Hoteliers: Opinion of Land-sellers, Pench TR

25% respondents, who had sold their land to hoteliers (n=12) reported that their income declined
after selling land, 41.6 regretted selling their lands and 33.33% said that they didn't get the right
price for land as brokers cheated them.
Reason for selling land
About the reason for selling their lands, 38.65% the respondents (n=10) cited crop damage by
wild animals, which deterred them to grow crops, 28.12% said that they were lured by land
brokers and got cheated, and rest 33.23% sold their land to start new businesses.

41

Land prices
The land prices/hectare reported by respondents (n=32) who had sold their lands around Pench
tiger reserve to outsiders for building hotels in a period from 1998 to 2009 is shown in the Table
8.13.
Table 8.13:
Respective Land Prices obtained by Villagers of their lands in
Pench Buffer around the Three Entry gates

Turia
Gate

Village
Turia n=21
Avargahnin=6
Kohka, n=5

Mean
2.96
1.51
1.5

Medium
2.22
1.48
1.73

Minimum
1.148206341
0.17
1.0721052
0.27
0.753248764
0.74

Maximum
7.14
3.48
2.47

The highest land prices are encountered in Turia that forms the hub of tourism related
development around Pench tiger reserve's core area. The mean land price over a period of 12
years is Rs. 2.57 lakh/ hectare (Min Rs. 0.17, Max =7.41 lakh Md= Rs. 1.97lakh per hectare, SD
=1.927802). Erratic land Prices are depicted in Figure 8.36, n=33 (Prices - Rs. In Lakh).
There appears to be no significant relationship between land prices and the year of transactions
(df 6, F -1.223, P value 0. 322).Enormous variation is found in land prices happening in the same
year; Among the land sellers (n=40) the caste composition revealed that the largest number
(35%) belonged to the Scheduled tribe followed by Other Backward Classes

(27.5%), other

castes (30%) and Scheduled caste (7.5%). Data reveal that in villages with predominant tribal
population the land prices are low, this lead to only one logical inference that the land sellers
(mostly non-business minded villagers, predominantly tribal people (Kohaka -100% ST, n=12
and Avarghani 66.33% ST and 33.33% SC, n=6), who have least acumen and shrewdness to
negotiate land prices were duped by the purchasers and brokers to sell their lands at less than the
actual market price .But, the land sellers from villages like Turia, which is 0.5-2 km from the
core is a big village (307families) consisting of mostly OBC (68%), ST(29.41), SC (11.76%) and
Others (14.29%), were able to extract comparatively better prices.

42

Figure 8.37: Erratic Variation in Land Prices (2002-2008), Kanha TR

57% of the land transactions for the purpose of building hotels took place within 0.5-2 kms of the
core of the tiger reserve (Table 8. 14).
Table 8.14:
Land Transactions and the relative Distance of Such Lands
from the core Boundary, Pench TR

PENCH TR
Distance of from
% of Total
the core
Transactions,
n=40
0-2
57%
2 to 5
9%
above 5
14%

43

Sold land area and land use

Based on the information provided by the respondents (n=40) about the sale of land, 63.46
hectare of land was sold to outsiders from 1998 to 2009. The kind of land use - under which
these lands were before in the hands of the sellers - is represented in the Figure 8.38.

Figure 8.38: Land Use before Sale of Private lands to Hoteliers, Pench TR Buffer

Remaining Agricultural land

60% of all respondents (n=40) reported that after selling their lands to outsiders they still have
some agricultural land for their use; rest 40% reported that they are now landless. The mean
land-holdings remaining with the villagers who have sold their land is 3.19 hectares/seller
(Min=0.2 hect., Max =12.15 Hect., Md = 2.02 hect. SD =3.08).
Economic Condition of Land sellers before and after sale of land
The analysis of income of villagers who had sold their lands to outsiders revealed that most of
them belonged to economically weaker section of society, 62.5% of the land sellers (n= 40) had

44

no income from the land they sold, 7.5% had income between Rs.1000-5000, 12.5% had income
between Rs. 5000-10000, 10% had income between Rs.10000-20000, 2.5% had income between
Rs. 20000-30000, 2.5% had income between Rs.30000-500000, and 2.5% had income between
50000-100000, per annum. The data in the following Table 8.15, highlights that after sale of
their land incomes of around 47% of the land sellers have improved. Income from remaining
agricultural land shows increase that may be attributable to purchase of fertile land elsewhere
and/or better farming inputs such as - better implements, improved seeds and irrigation. Out of
those who had reported no income earlier, around 12% reported income after sale of land from
other occupations and interests on fixed deposits. Around Pench Tiger reserve 40% of locals
became landless after selling land.

Table 8.15: Comparison of Income Ranges before and after Sale of land, Pench TR

8.1.5.1

20000-30000

30000-50000

50000100000
above 1 lakh

5
6
5

4
4
2

1
2
4

1
3
4

1
2
1

0
1
1

15
18
18

0 (No
Income)

10000-20000

3
0
1

Number of
respondents
reporting
income

5000-10000

Farm income before sale of land

Agri income from remaining land
Present total income

1000-5000

Comparison of Income Ranges before and after sale of land

Land Sellers' Income, n=45

25
22
19

Impact of Hotels on buffer forests : Firewood Consumption by

Hotels/month

Kanha Tiger Reserve

46 .2% of the hotels (n=26 ) reported procuring firewood from forest depot, while 42.3%
purchased firewood from local villagers or local market, 7.7 reported growing firewood on their
own premises and rest 3.8% reported purchasing eucalyptus billets from nearby farmers.
9 out of 12 hotels, 75% of hotels in Mukki use wood based boiler, these hotels have 37 boiler
tanks of varying capacity (40 ltrs to 300ltrs). The mean consumption of firewood/tank/day is
calculated from data gathered from hotels (n=9) the estimated mean consumption is 14.45
kg(Md 6 kg, Min 1 kg, Max 45 kg, SD = 15.40643805) and the total consumption of firewood,
extrapolating from the median value, for all the 37 boiler tanks over the 273 days tourist season
comes to 60606 kg or 60.60mt/annum.
45

36% of the hoteliers (n=19) reported consuming 500 to 1000kg of firewood per month, 10.52%
consumed 1000-3000 kg, 5.25% consumed between 2000-5000 kg, 26.3% consumed between
250 to 500 kg while rest 21.1% consumed 80-250 Kg firewood per month. . The mean firewood
consumption per month by hotels (n=35) comes to 975.26 Kg/month/hotel (Md.700 Kg, Min 80
kg, Max 5000kg, SD =1117.469). Extrapolating from the median value for the entire tourist
season (9 months) for 48 hotels the annual consumption firewood by all hotels comes to about
302400 kg (302.40 mt) and as reported by hotels 42% firewood (127008 or 127 mt) of this
comes from forests of the buffer zone of the tiger reserve from where the villagers gather or
illicitly cut it sell it to the hoteliers.
Data were collected on number and capacity of wood-based boilers used by hotels. 14 out of 36
hotels, 39% of hotels in Khatia and Mocha use wood based boiler, these hotels have 77 boiler
tanks of varying capacity (100 litres. to 2000 litres). The mean consumption of
firewood/tank/day is calculated from data gathered from hotels (n=14) the estimated mean
consumption is 77.57 kg (Md 40 kg, Min 5 kg, Max 460 kg, SD = 118.7834) and the total
consumption of firewood, extrapolating from the median value, for all the 77 boiler tanks over
the 273 days tourist season comes to 840840 kg or 840.84 mt/annum.
The firewood need for feeding the boilers used by hotels indicates that the hotels were not honest
in their replies during the questionnaire survey about use of firewood.
Firewood Consumption by Dhabas (eateries)/day
The mean firewood consumption Kg/day of dhaba (n=5) was estimated to be 63.75 kg (Md 45kg,
min 15kg, Max 150 Kg, =60.466033. Using the median value the yearly consumption firewood
by all 10 dhaba around Kanha tiger reserve over the entire tourist season (273 days) is estimated
to be 122.85 tm. And almost 75% of the firewood used by the dhaba is purchased from the
villagers who procure it from the buffer forests pf Kanha tiger reserve.
Pench Tiger Reserve
71% of the hotels (n=7) reported procuring firewood from forest depot, 14.5% purchased wood
entirely from local villagers, while 14.5% purchased firewood from local villagers or local
market.

46

85% of the hotels (n=11) use wood based boilers, these hotels have 39 boilers tanks of varying
capacity (80 litres to 7000 litres). The mean consumption of firewood/tank/day is calculated from
data gathered from hotels (n=11) the estimated mean consumption is 10.77 kg (Md 12.5 kg,
Min 4.5 kg, Max 15 kg, SD = 4.209297) and the total consumption of firewood, extrapolating
from the median value, for all the 39 boiler tanks over the 273 days tourist season comes to
50187.5 kg or 50.18 mt/annum.
The data on firewood consumption by hotels around Pench revealed 40% of the hotels (n=6) use
firewood between 50-100 Kg/month, 60% consume firewood between 100- 200 kg and 20% use
around 950 kg. Considering the fact that hotels around Pench tiger reserve get power supply for
11 hrs/ day on an average, and 71% hotels have reported dependence on firewood, the
information provided by the hotel is untenable, therefore for calculating consumption of
firewood by 13 hotels around Pench the mean firewood consumption per month by hotels around
Kanha tiger reserve (975.26 Kg/month/hotel, Md 700Kg/month/hotel) has been used.
Extrapolating the median value for 13 hotels around Pench tiger reserve, the annual consumption
firewood by all hotels comes to about 109200 kg (109.20 mt) and 100% of this comes from local
forests collected by villagers and sold individually or in the local market because the forest depot
records of two years (2006-07 and 2007-08) reveal that not a single firewood stack was
purchased by any of the 13 hotels.

8.1.5.3

Impact of Hotels on the dispersal areas and the corridors

Most protected areas have been constituted as fragmented, isolated, relatively small pockets of
lands, creating islands of biodiversity, that are prone to problems of inbreeding depression,
genetic heterozygosity, and localised extinctions due to environmental fluctuations (Caldecott et
al, 1996). Problems caused by fragmentation have been addressed in some areas by linking PAs
through wildlife corridors, which allow species to migrate and recolonise areas to reduce the
likelihood of extinction (Newark et al, 1993). In India though the principal rationale for creation
of protected areas has been conservation of biodiversity and endangered species the size of
protected areas were small as rule owing to the demographic pressures on land and therefore
these PAs over the years have become virtual islands surrounded by numerous villages and
incompatible land uses.
As a top carnivore, tiger needs large habitats (Miquelle et al. 1999, Carbone et al. 2001, Karanth
et al. 2004), but generally in India the tiger reserves are too small to ensure in the long run

47

ecologically, demographically, and genetically viable populations of tigers(e.g. Woodroffe and

Ginsberg 1998, Carroll and Miquelle 2006). To overcome the shortcoming of the smallness of
protected areas in India, the central government commissioned a planning framework and a
detailed document titled - Planning a Protected Area Network for India was published in 198889. The network has been envisioned to create conservation landscapes where protected areas
that harbor tiger subpopulations are linked by dispersal corridors, enabling corridors for
movement of long ranging species and genetic exchange among populations through continuous
distribution in the landscapes. The importance of corridors for a long ranging species like tiger
restricted in isolated islands of protected areas cannot be denied; a species like tiger can survive
in the long run only if its populations are managed as metapopulation by ensuring connectivity
among the natal areas and potential habitats through viable corridors . Long-term conservation of
tigers and other large wildlife species in Asia will depend on careful land-use planning and
zoning of large conservation landscapes to include areas for human use, core habitat, wildlife
corridors, and buffer zones (Dinerstein et al. 1999). Such large conservation landscapes cannot
succeed where tigers and people depend precariously on the same piece of habitat for sustenance,
unless the local people are included in this endeavour by providing them greater economic
incentives, empowerment and by nurturing those traditions that foster conservation of wildlife.
To understand the impact of rapid constructions of hotels in the buffer zone, already burdened
with the demands emanating from 150 villages, on the dispersal area and corridors the GPS coordinates of hotels in existence, hotels under construction including land sold by villagers to
outsiders for the purpose of hotel construction, were recorded with the help of field staff of
Kanha and Pench Tiger reserves and transferred to a map containing locations of villages in the
buffer zones. Plates 8.1 shows the corridor between Kanha and Pench and Plate 8.2, 8.3 and 8.4
shows the location of exiting and under construction hotels and villages vis--vis the corridor
between Kanha and Pench..

48

Plate 8.1: Corridor between Kanha Pench Tiger Reserve

49

Plate 8.2:
Location of Hotels (Existing as well as under construction)
vis--vis Kanha Pench Corridor

50

Plate 8.3:
Location of Villages, Hotels and Private land sold for Hotel Construction in the Buffer
Zone

Plate 8.4: Hotels and villages around Core area of Pench Tiger Reserve
Data source: Kanha and Pench TRs
Analysis
The mean property size of the hotels (n=29) around the two entry gates of Kanha tiger reserve is
6.83 hectares (Md 3.64 hectares, Min 0.4 hectares, Max=36 hectares, SD = 9.832395. While the
property size of hotels (n=20) is smaller mean 2.72 hectares, Md 2.42 hectares, Min 0.4
hectares, Max 12 hectares SD =2.438938; in comparisons hotels (n=9) around Mukki entry gate
are larger in size, Mean 9.73 hectares, Md 4.04 hectares, Min 2.42 hectares, Max 36 hectares, SD
=11.79441. Around Mukki entry gate, 66.66% of the hotels have property between 3 to 5
hectares, 11.11% has property below 3 hectares and only 22.22% have property between 23 and
36 hectares, while around Khatia gate 45% of the hotels have property between 2-3 hectares,
35% between 3-4 hectares, 20% have property less than 1 hectares and rest 5% have property
between 10-12 hectares. Around Pench tiger reserve, the mean property size of the hotels (n=12)
is 4.78 hectares (Md 2.02 hectares, Min 0.4 hectares, Max=15 hectares, SD 5.149914.

51

Interestingly all hotel properties around Kanha and Pench tiger reserves are fenced hampering
the free movement of wild animals in the buffer zone.
Around Kanha tiger reserve all the 48 hotels (21 in the pipeline) have been constructed along the
south and south-western periphery of the core of the tiger reserve which is a critical part of the
Kanha -Pench corridor. Several hotels are situated adjacent to the Banjar River an important
riparian habitat for all wildlife and an integral part of the corridor. Out of the surveyed hotels
(n=36), 28% are located within 0-0.5 km of the core boundary of the tiger reserve, 14% are
within 0.5-2 km, 44% within 2-5 km and only 14% are located more than 5 km from the core
boundary. The mean distance of hotels from core boundary is 3.25 km (Md=3Km, Min=0Km,
Max =12 Km and SD =2.96980038).
The lands that are now with the hotels on the Mukki side were largely fallow land with scrub
forest that was used by dispersing wild animals as habitats and tigers used to negotiate through
these scrubs as it provided adequate cover for their safe passage (Rajneesh Range officer, Mukki,
pers. communication, 2009). The loss of the safe passages sometimes result in tiger mortality as
this case study demonstrates On 28th October 2008 a tiger left the confine of the core (it was
earlier seen in the Ghorella meadow of the core area in Mukki range) and moved into Manjitola
village in the buffer, it was spotted by villagers near the newly fenced property of the Taj Safari
hotel. The tiger remained outside the core area operating between Manjitola and Sarkahi tola (45 Kms apart). This tiger survived on cattle. Under pressure from aggressive villagers the tiger
was immobilized and released in the Saunf meadow of the core area on 16th November, 2008.
In January 2009 it again came back to its original territory the Ghorella meadow and on 30 th
January 2009, it was killed by another aggressive male tiger (Rajneesh, Range officer, Mukki,
pers. communication, 2009). This case emphasises the need for leaving safe passages for long
ranging species like tiger.
The tiger mortality data from 2004 to 2008 reveals that 75% tiger deaths were found to be a
result of conflict among tigers one tiger killing the other. This amply depicts the pressures
tigers of Kanha are facing because of their inability to move out of the tiger reserve and establish
themselves in new vacant habitats. The Figure 8.39 below shows the causes of tiger mortality
in Kanha tiger reserve from 2004 to 2008.

52

Figure 8.39: Causes of Tiger Deaths in Kanha Tiger Reserve (2004-2009)

Over 5 years, cannibalism took toll of 6 tiger cubs, while 2 female and one male tiger succumbed
to in fighting, Out of 12 reported tiger deaths 11 occurred within the core of the tiger reserve.
Though the 13 hotels in Pench at this juncture do not seem to pose any threat to the Kanha
Pench corridor as such but taking into account the construction spree that is going on, in future
there is all likelihood that the connecting territorial forest patch between the Pench tiger reserve
of Madhya Pradesh and Pench tiger reserve of Maharastra would be adversely impacted from
proliferation of hotels as it would entail loss of safe passages, dispersal habitats and deterioration
in the quality of habitat.
There is enough evidence to conclude that hotels around Kanha and Pench tiger reserves have
adversely impacted ground water, health of the buffer forests (by creating demand for fire-wood)
and have become a hub of garbage production and disturbance to dispersing tigers and its prey.

53

The overall picture that emerges from this study is that unsustainable growth of hotels in the
buffer zone has resulted

in environmental pollution, ecological degradation, illegal land

transactions to the disadvantage of poor tribal and other marginalised communities as well as
usurpation of dispersal areas and movement corridors of wildlife. The Rest houses managed by
the tiger reserves are no better than the hotels as they too have not adopted best practices.

Impact of tourism on local economy and livelihoods of local people

To understand the impact of tourism development in and around tiger reserves, the present study
attempted to analyse the size and shape of the hotel industry active around Kanha and Pench
tiger reserve as well as the kind of revenue their activities generate per annum. The same
analysis was done to understand the quantum of revenue generated by the tiger reserves.,
Analyses of questionnaires served on hoteliers, managers, local people, guides, taxi owners and
drivers were done to understand how the locals are involved in the tourism business and what are
the levels of their involvement and what are the benefits and losses they have suffered because of
tourism.

54

The hotel industry and its economics

The hotels around Kanha (n=36) reported their status as follows - luxury lodges (25%), High
Middle Class (50%), Middle Class (19%), for backpackers and students (2.8%) and both high
middle and middle class (2.8%). All the hotels (n=33) operate only for nine month tourist season
from 1st October to 30 June, every year.
An analyses based on tariff charged by the hotels around Mukki and Khatia gates revealed that
Mukki Hotels (n=10) fall under two categories Luxury hotels (70%) and Middle Class (30%)
while Khatia Hotels (n=26) provide a wider range of choices to all kind of visitors, the hotels fall
in following categories - Luxury Hotels (19%), High Middle class (19%), Middle class (27%)
and economy class (35%)
In 2009, all the 48 hotels together (36 around Khatia gate and 12 around Mukki gate) provided
1498 bed nights for visitors. Mean occupancy of hotels (n=31) is 35.51% (Min 20%, Max 60%,
Md 35%, SD =12.91993542. 56% of tourists stay in hotels (n=33) for an average duration of 2
days (48hrs.) 26% stay for 24 hrs,12% stay for 72 hrs and 3% stay for about a week.
36.4% of the hotels around Pench tiger reserve (n=11), reported their status as luxury lodges,
High Middle Class (27.3%), Middle Class (27.3%), and for all income groups (9.1%). 36.4%of
the hotels (n=11) operate only from nine month (tourist season) from 1st October to 30 June,
every year while 63.6% remain open for the entire year.
Based on tariff charged by the hotels (n=12), 33% are Luxury hotels, 33% are Higher Middle
Class, 8% are Middle class and 25% are economy class.
All the 13 hotels provided 480 bed nights for visitors. The average availability of beds comes to
37/hotel,(Md 26, Min 16, Max 104, SD =23.67298575. Mean occupancy of hotels (n=12) is
45.75% (Md 43%, Min 34%, Max 70%, SD =11.5374883). 70% of tourists stay in hotels (n=10)
for an average duration of 1 days (24 hrs.) and 30% stay for 48 hrs.

Income of Hotels
Most of the Hotels (n=36) around Kanha tiger reserve were wary of providing information about
their annual income and expenditure. Those (25%) who provided information (n=9) apparently

55

didn't reveal the correct figures. Analysis of the data provided by these hotel indicates that the
mean annual income after deducting expenses of hotels around Kanha is only Rs. 7.97 Lakh
(Md Rs. 2.5 Lakh, Min Rs. 0.55 lakh, Max Rs. 20 lakh, SD =7.36351). The information about
expenditure was provided by 16 (44.44%) out of 36 surveyed. according to this data the mean
annual expenses of the hotels around Kanha tiger reserve is Rs. 10.59 Lakh (Md Rs. 3.5 Lakh,
Min Rs. 0.50 lakh, Max Rs. 36 lakh, SD =12.54756). This clearly shows that the hotels have not
been candid about their incomes. Therefore, to find out an estimate of annual revenue of hotels
indirect method was deployed and the revenues were calculated from tariff charged by 31 hotels,
number of rooms in each of these hotels and average occupancy data of each hotel. This
calculation revealed that the average annual rent collected by these hotels from guests is
Rs.117.55 lakh per annum (Md Rs. 95.5 Lakh, Min Rs. 4.91 lakh, Max Rs. 573.30 lakh, SD
=131.09804). To calculate the annual revenue, by all 48 hotels around Kanha Tiger reserve,
median value was used. The Total annual revenue collected by hotels only from room rents
comes to Rs. 458640000. Considering the overhead cost which usually is between 50-60% of the
total revenue (Horngren, C. T. et al.2009), the combined profits of all 48 hotels around Kanha
tiger reserve before taxes would be around Rs. 2245.425 lakh.
The analysis also revealed that the annual revenue collection of hotels in and around Mukki is
almost double than that of the hotels in and around Khatia. The mean annual revenue from room
rent calculated from 10 hotels in and around Mukki is Rs. 187.30 lakh (Md Rs. 162.35 Lakh,
Min Rs. 24.57lakh, Max Rs. 573.3.30 lakh, SD =156.1311467) while mean annual revenue of in
and around Khatia is Rs. 89.02 lakh, (Md Rs. 46.95Lakh, Min Rs. 4.91 lakh, Max Rs. 458.64
lakh, SD =111.03139). This is because there are only luxury and high middle class hotels in and
around Mukki while there are the hotels in and around Khatia that cater to all classes of tourists.
Out of the 11 surveyed hotels (N=13) around Pench tiger reserve only 4 (36%) provided
information but apparently didn't reveal the correct figures. Analysis of the data provided by
hotels around Pench tiger reserve indicates that the mean annual income of hotels, after
deducting expenses, is only Rs. 14.62 lakh (Md Rs. 8.75 lakh, Min Rs. 1 lakh, Max Rs. 40 lakh,
SD =14.9974). The information about expenditure was provided by 3 hotels (27.27%) out of 11
surveyed. According to this data the mean annual expenses of the hotels around Kanha tiger
reserve is Rs. 10.73 lakh (Md Rs. 10 lakh, Min Rs. 2.2 lakh, Max Rs. 20 lakh, SD =7.285297).
This clearly shows that the hotels have not been candid about their incomes. Therefore, to find

56

out an estimate of annual revenue of hotels indirect method was deployed and the revenues were
calculated from tariff charged by 12 hotels, number of rooms in each of these hotels and average
occupancy data of each hotel. This calculation revealed that the average annual room rent
collected by these hotels from guests is Rs. 140.33 lakh per annum (Md Rs. 98.28 lakh, Min Rs.
15.28 lakh, Max Rs. 491.4 lakh, SD =154.37249 ). To calculate the annual revenue by all 13
hotels around Pench tiger reserve median value was used. The Total annual revenue collected by
hotels only from room rents comes to Rs. 127764000. Considering the overhead cost which
usually is between 50-60% of the total revenue (Horngren, C. T. et al.2009), the combined
profits of all 13 hotels around Pench tiger reserve before taxes would be around Rs. 574.94 lakh.
This calculation is also corroborated from the analysis of data provided by the 11 hoteliers of
their annual revenue to the field director Pench tiger reserve . The analysis revealed that average
annual room rent collected by these hotels from guests is Rs. 145.56 lakh per annum (Md Rs.
117 lakh, Min Rs. 14.3 lakh, Max Rs. 440.7 lakh, SD =123.2956). Using the median value the
total annual revenue of all 13 hotels comes to Rs.152100000. And after deducting overhead costs
@ 55% the total annual profit of all 13 hotels around Pench tiger reserve comes to Rs. 684.45
lakh.

Taxes that Hoteliers/Resort Owners are liable to pay

1. Land Tax (Panchayat): Rs.3.00 Per thousand, on the total cost of land per year
2. Diversion Tax (Revenue): Rs. 3000.00 to Rs. 10.000.00 per year depending on the situation
of the land
3. Food & Drug License Fee: Rs. 1000.00 per year for the renewal of license
4. Entertainment Tax: 20% (included in room charge)
5. Sales Tax & Luxury Tax: 20% (w.e.f 1/4/11)
6. Income Tax: As usual
7. Pollution Certificate: Rs. 10000 to 20000 per year, depending upon the size and extent of
the lodge
8. Hotel Registration Tax: only once

57

How much Hotels contribute to the local economy

Taxes Paid to the Local Panchayats
Hotels have not been forthcoming in divulging the details of taxes they pay to the local
panchayat, the state government and the Central government. Information about local taxes paid
to the panchayats during last three years was obtained from the respective panchayats.
Kanha
1.

Average Annual Income of all 48 Hotels around Kanha = Rs. 45,86,40,000

2.

The combined profit of all 48 hotels around Kanha tiger reserve before taxes is estimated
to be Rs. 224542500 lakh.

3.

Average annual Land Tax paid to panchayats by of all 48 Hotels-Rs. 65,807.00

4.

% Tax paid to local self government = 0.028%

5.

33.33% hotels are not paying taxes to the panchayats(n=39)

Pench
1. Average Annual Income of all 48 Hotels around Kanha = Rs.15,21,00000
2. The combined profit of all 13 hotels around Pench tiger reserve before taxes estimated to be
around Rs. 574.94 lakh
3. Average annual Tax paid by of all 13 Hotels-Rs. 55,500.00
4. % Tax paid by Hotels to local Panchayat = 0.081% of the average Annual Income
5. 61% of the hotels are not paying tax to the Panchayat (n=13)

Local employment generation by hotels

72.4% of the hotels around Kanha tiger reserve (n=29 that is 60.41 of all hotels and 80.55% of
the surveyed hotels)) reported actively pursuing the policy to employ more and more local
people while 27.6% said they don't have any such policy. 100% of the responding hotels around
Pench tiger reserve (n=6, that is only 46% of all hotels and 54% of surveyed hotels) reported that
they actively pursue the policy to employ more and more local people.
Analysis of data provided by 36 surveyed hotels around Kanha tiger reserve revealed that though
66.85% of total jobs available in these hotels are given to the locals, 71.1% of the locals (n=293)

58

employed thus hold menial jobs. The places of origin of hotel employees is depicted in Figure
8.40 and the% of locals in various categories of jobs is presented in Figure 8.41.

Figure 8.40: Status of Employment of Locals in Hotels around Kanha TR

59

Figure 8.41: Status of Locals in the Job Hierarchy in Hotels around Kanha TR

An analysis of data provided by 28 (78%) of the surveyed hotels (n=36) revealed that 39% of the
hotels have 1-5 local employees, 18% have 6-10, 18% have 11-15, 18% have 16-20 and rest 7%
have 20-30 local employees. On an average each hotel has around 10.46 employees from local
villages. This means that in 2009, 48 hotels operating around Kanha tiger reserve gave jobs to
around 500 local villagers.
Analysis of data provided by 11 surveyed hotels around Pench tiger reserve revealed that though
46 locals (constituting 30.87% of total jobs in these hotels) are employed by hotels, 87% of the
locals so employed hold menial jobs. The places of origin of hotel employees are depicted in
Figure 8.42 and the % locals in various categories of jobs is presented in Figure 8.43.

60

Figure 8.42: Status of Employment of Locals in Hotels around Pench TR

Figure 8.43: Status of Locals in the Job Hierarchy in Hotels around Pench TR

An analysis of data provided by 85% of all surveyed hotels (n=11) revealed that 44% of the
hotels have no local employee, 18% have 1-5, 18% have 6-10, and rest 18% have 11-15 local

61

employees. On an average each hotel has around 4 employees from local villages. This means
that in 2009, 13 hotels operating around Pench tiger reserve gave jobs to around 52 local
villagers.

8.2.1.5

Sharing Profits with Locals

Responding to the question "As your business is dependent on public resource (forest, wildlife,
cultural, historical sites) and local resources such as ground water, electricity, fuel wood are
utilized for serving your clients, would you be willing to contribute some part of your profit
towards community development works and for protection and development of the tiger reserve?
66.7% of the hotels around Kanha (n=21) expressed willingness to share a portion of their profits
with the local people and the tiger reserve and 4.8% said that they have already been contributing
to the local people by employing mostly local people in their hotels and by purchasing local
products, while 28.6% were of the view that they wouldn't share profits with any one as they
have been paying taxes to the government all along.
53.84% of those hotels that showed willingness to share profits gave an indication of the
percentage of their profit they would like to share with the local people and the tiger reserve.
14.3% of the hotels (n=7, a mere 14.58% of all existing hotels and just 19.44% of all surveyed
hotels)) offered to share 30% of the profit, 28.6% said they would part with 10% of the profit,
14.3% wished to give away 5%, 28.6% offered 2% and remaining 14.3% wished to share 1% of
their profits with the local people and the tiger reserve. Responding to another question whether
they have plans to share the profits made by them from tourism business with local people, 43%
of the hotels (n=30) said 'YES' while 53.7% said 'NO"; 3.3% gave the reason that they already
purchase local products from villagers. 57% of the dhaba (n=7) purchased their raw material
from local village market, 29% from the near by town and 14% from both the markets.
44% of the hotels around Pench (n=9) expressed willingness to share a portion of their profits
with the local people and the tiger reserve another 44% said they wouldn't contribute to either at
all, while 12% were of the view that they may contribute if the behaviour of the tiger reserve
personnel towards them is friendly.
50% of those 4 hotels around Pench (n=2, a mere 15% of all existing hotels and just 18% of all
surveyed hotels) that showed willingness to share profits indicated that they were willing to share

62

5% of their profits remaining 50% didn't disclose their intentions. Responding to another
question whether they have plans to share the profits made by them from tourism business with
local people, 60% of the hotels (n=5) said 'YES' while 40% said 'NO'.
In response to the question "Does your hotel contributes to community development works in
nearby villages like building schools, hostels, hospital, approach road, irrigation, drinking water
facilities etc?" 64% of the hotels (n=34) responded 'YES' while 35% said 'NO'.
Only 5 (13.88%) out of 36 respondents provided information about the ways in which they have
been already sharing profits with villagers 40% said that they have employed local people,20%
had built schools, 20% had distributed education materials to children, done community
development works, taken care of sanitation in villages and rest 20% had organised health camps
and provide work related training to Local men and women. 90% of the hotels around Pench
(n=10) responded 'YES' while 10% said 'NO'.
92.2% of the surveyed villagers (n=166) from the buffer zone of Kanha tiger reserve reported
that hotels haven't done anything for the development their village so far, 1.2% said that the hotel
in their village runs school for children, 1.2% reported hotels giving scholarship to children,
5.6% reported that hotels have built schools, temple and hospital and have carried out road
repairs in their villages. 100% of the villagers (n=92) from the buffer zone of Pench tiger reserve
responded that hotels haven't done anything for the development their village so far.
Responding to the question "Does your Hotel organization has a policy to procure food grains,
dairy & poultry products, fish, and meat from local markets?" 79% of the hotels (n=34) said
'YES' and 21% said 'NO'. Among those who said yes 82.35% (n=28) gave out the list of products
purchased from local people or local markets. Table 8.16, provides the list of local products
purchased by hotels.

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Table 8.16: Different Local Products Purchased by Hotels, Kanha TR

Local products purchased by Hotels,

Kanha TR, n=28
Food Grains, Dairy Products, Condiments, Art and Craft,
Building material, Firewood, Meat and poultry product,
Fish, Herbal medicines
Only Food Grains
Only Dairy Products
Only Condiments
Only Building material
Only Art and craft
Only Firewood

% of Hotels Reporting
45.08

7.12
3.56
3.56
3.56
3.56
3.56

24% of the hotels (n=29) reported that more than 50% of their daily supplies are procured from
local sources, 34% procured between 25-50%, another 34.5% between 10-25% and rest 6.9%
purchased between 5-10% of their daily supplies from local sources.
100% of the hotels around Pench (n=11) said 'YES'. The list of products purchased from local
people or local markets. Table 8.17.
Table 8.17: Different Local Products Purchased by Hotels, Pench TR

Local products purchased by Hoteliers,

Pench TR, n=11
Dairy Products, Building material, Meat and poultry Products,
Fish
Food Grains, Dairy Products, Building material, Toiletries, Art
and craft, firewood, Meat and poultry product Fish
Dairy Products, Meat and poultry product, Art and craft,
Firewood
Only Food Grains

% Hotels reporting

36.3
36.4
18.2
9.1

40% of the hotels (n=10) reported that between 25-50%, of their daily supplies were procured
from local sources, 50% purchased

10-25% and rest 10% purchased 10-25% of their daily

supplies from local sources.

8.2.1.6

How much of the tourist spending become available to the locals

Kanha Tiger reserve

The total estimated expenditure by visitors at the destination in tourist season 2008-09 over the
entire tourist season (273 days) is Rs. 1407.77 lakh. As around 39.32% of visitors make

64

bookings on arrival and 1% over phone and pay after reaching the destination, it may be safely
inferred that about 50% of the expenditure (Rs. 703.5 lakh) incurred by tourists at the destination
goes to the hotels. Adding to it the actual entry fees (Rs. 291.66 lakh the actual tourism fee
receipts of Kanha Tiger reserve in tourist season 2008-09) paid during the entire tourists season,
the expenditure incurred by tourists, which either goes to the hotels or to the tiger reserve's
development fund, come to Rs. 995.15 lakh; this leaves out

around Rs. 411.85 lakh, that is

actually spent by the visitors at the destination is accrues to the locals for services or products
over the entire 9 month tourist season.
Pench Tiger reserve
The estimated total expenditure by the tourists in one tourist season is Rs. 447.77 lakh. As
around 12.9% of visitors make bookings on arrival and 3.2% over phone and the fact that 12.4%
visitor come for 1/2 a day and 47.2% stay only for one day, it may be safely inferred that about
20% of the expenditure (Rs. 89.55 Lakh) at the destination goes to the hotels. Adding to it the
actual entry fees (Rs 90.58 lakh the actual tourism fee receipts of Pench tiger reserve in tourist
season 2008-09, the expenditure incurred by tourists, which either goes to the hotels or to the
tiger reserve's development fund, come to Rs. 180.4 lakh; this leaves out around Rs. 267.37 lakh,
that is actually spent by the visitors at the destination goes to locals for services or products over
the entire 9 month tourist season.

Economic Impact on those local people who have direct livelihood interest in
tourism in the tiger reserves Taxi owners/Drivers and Guides
Status of Taxi owners and drivers
Taxi business is a direct new source of livelihood in remote areas emanating solely from the
ongoing tourism based on the tiger reserves. Therefore it would be worthwhile to find that how
those local villagers who have ventured into this new enterprise have fared, how sustainable is
this business.

65

8.2.1.7.1a

Kanha Taxi owners/Drivers

In 2009, 136 (Khatia-87 and Mukki-49) private vehicles were registered with the Kanha tiger
reserve as tourist taxis to carry tourists into the reserve. 68.5% of the surveyed taxi
owners/drivers (n=92) belonged to the villages located between 0.5 to 2 km of the tiger reserve
core, 13% belonged to villages between 3 to 5 km of the core, rest 18.5% from villages beyond
5 km of the core. About 47% of the taxi owners/drivers (n=92) were from Khatia and 27% from
Mocha. The two of the three tourist hubs of Kanha tiger reserve. 84% of the respondents (n=50)
owned only 1 taxi, 15% had 2 taxis and rest 1% owned 3 taxis. 50% respondents (n=87) said that
they owned the taxi while rest 50% were driving taxis owned by the hotels. 98% respondents
(n=92) said that they accommodated 6 tourists while 2% accommodated 8 tourists. 86% of the
taxis (n=135) used petrol as fuel while 14% reported using diesel.
47% of the respondents (n=87) informed that they took loan from friends and relatives, 21%
sold land, 3% sold land as well as took bank loan and rest 29% took bank loan to purchase the
taxis.
The mean hire charges reported by respondents (n=89) for the morning excursion, on routine
days, was Rs. 1261 (Md Rs. 1250, Min Rs. 1000, Max Rs. 2000, SD =135.7718), for the evening
excursion charges reported (n=88) mean was Rs. 1094 per excursion (Md Rs. 1000, Min Rs. 750,
Max Rs. 1250, SD =157.7158). For morning excursion 98% of the taxis charged between
Rs.1000-1500 but 2% charged between Rs. 1500-2000 and for the evening ride 93% of the taxi
charged between Rs. 1000-1500 and 7% charged between Rs. 500-750.
95.5% of the respondents (n=89) reported charging between Rs. 1000-1500/ excursion
irrespective of the occasion, only 4.5% reported charging Rs. 1500-2500/excursion. For evening
rides on the peak days 93% taxis (n=86) reported charging between Rs. 1000-1500 and rest 7%
said that they charged between Rs. 500-1000. Only 35% of the respondents (n=89) ferried
tourists on excursion for both morning and evening rounds while 65.5% did only one round per
day.
On maintenance and running a taxi for a year, 48% of the respondents (n=91) spent Rs. 5000075000, 34% reported spending Rs.75000 -125000, rest 18% said that they spent more than 1.25
lakh each year for maintaining and running the taxi/taxies. And after deducting the expenses the

66

net profit of 65.5% taxi owners was between Rs. 25000 to 50000, 16% earned an annual profit
between Rs. 50,000 to 75,000, 4.8% reported an income between Rs. 75,000 to 1, 00,000, and
annual profits of the rest 1% were between Rs. 1, 50,000 to 2, 00,000. The estimated mean
annual profit of taxi owners (n=87) is Rs. 56465.52 ((Md Rs. 37500, Min Rs 37500, Max
Rs.175000, SD =32454.24).

8.2.1.7.1b

Pench Taxi owners/ Drivers

Number and types of taxis registered and surveyed

In 2009, 59 private vehicles were registered with the Pench tiger reserve as tourist taxis and
permitted to carry tourists into the reserve. Out of these 59 the questionnaire survey covered 43
(73%) registered taxi owners/ drivers. Out of the 59 taxis 86% are Maruti gypsy with a capacity
to seat six including the driver, remaining 14% are other special utility taxis (Tata safari and
Bolero). 74% of the surveyed taxi owners/drivers (n=43) belonged to the villages located
between 0.5 to 2 km of the tiger reserve core, 7% to villages between 3 to 5 km of the core, 10%
from villages beyond 5 km of the core and 9% were from other districts. About 57% of the taxi
owners/drivers were from one village Turia.51% respondents (n=39) said that they owned the
taxi while rest 49% were driving taxis owned by the hotels. 71% of the respondents (n=42)
owned only 1 taxi, 9.5% had 2 taxis, 16.7% had 3 taxis and rest 2.4% owned 4 taxis. Average
age of the taxis use as taxi in the tiger reserve is 11 years (Md 11 years, minimum 5 years, Max
22 years, SD = 5). 70% of the taxis (n=58) are between 10 to 22 years old. 83% respondents
(n=42) said that they accommodated 6 tourist while on excursion into the reserve while 17%
accommodated 8 tourists. 86% of the taxis (n=59) used petrol as fuel while 14% reported using
diesel.
49% of the respondents (n=39) informed that they took loan from friends and relatives, 23%
sold land, 8% sold land as well as took bank loan and rest 21% took bank loan to purchase the
taxis.
The mean hire charges reported by respondents (n=38) for the morning excursion, on routine
days, was Rs. 1454 (Md Rs. 1250, Min Rs. 1250, Max Rs. 4500, SD =650), for the evening
excursion charges reported (n=37) mean was Rs.1250 per excursion (SD =0). For morning
excursion 90% of the taxis charged between Rs.1000-1500 but, 8% charged between Rs. 2000-

67

3000 and 2% charged from Rs. 4000-5000.In the evening ride 100% taxi charged between
Rs.1000-5000.
On maintenance and running a taxi for a year, 70% of the respondents (n=43) spent Rs. 5000075000, rest 39% reported spending Rs.75000 -125000. And after deducting the expenses the net
profit of 42% taxi owners was between Rs. 50,000 to 75,000, 32% earned an annual profit
between Rs. 25,000 to 50,000 and annual profits of the rest 27% were between Rs. 75,000 to 1,
00,000. The estimated mean annual profits of taxi owners (n=43) is Rs. 60755.81 (Md Rs.
62500, Min 37500Rs., Max Rs 87500., SD =19207.01).
The analysis reveals that the taxi business run by locals is just enough for sustaining them and
not a very profitable venture. They apparently have no opportunity to expand their taxi business
further owing to carrying capacity restrictions as well as dearth of financial resources.

Threats posed by tourism development to the values of the buffer zones of

Kanha and Pench tiger reserves and the level of awareness among Hotels
about conservation issues and their responsibilities
Depletion of buffer forests, loss of dispersal areas and impediment to free
movement of tiger

This study reveals a rapid growth in number of hotels around Kanha and Pench tiger reserves.
Since 2002 the hotel numbers in the buffer grew by 152% in Kanha tiger reserve and by 333% in
Pench Tiger reserve. Such rapid development in a sensitive zone should be a cause of serious
concern for the government as well as the field directors of the reserves. The unbridled growth in
number of hotels over a short span of time is primarily due to the reason that the tiger reserve
managers lack legal control over the private and revenue lands in the buffer zone. Though, there
are legal restrictions on the purchase of lands belonging to tribal people, the evidence suggest
malpractice in transactions. The concern of the field director over this serious problem was first
voiced long back in July 1987 in his letter to the then Chief Wildlife Warden (details of which
are provided in Chapter-8), yet his concern failed to elicit any response and the hotels continued
to proliferate. As Indian economy began brightening up in last ten years, more and more

68

entrepreneurs as well as established business houses started making a bee-line to the tiger
reserves.
Though 72% of the hotels in Kanha and 74% in Pench report pursuing ecotourism or green
tourism, the data reveal that misuse of natural resources and bad practices by the hotels are
harming the environment and ecology of the area. Despite this, the hotels are not contributing
anything to protect and manage the resources of the tiger reserves that constitute the sole reason
for existence of tourism business in these remote areas. On the contrary several negative impacts
of rapid and unplanned growth of hotels are visible on the buffer zone where both local people as
well as the wildlife are facing the brunt.
Tourist infrastructure like hotels use huge amount of local natural resources like - ground water,
surface water, land, natural building material and energy, and also strain the civic amenities
such as public water supply, electricity, drainage, waste disposal systems, roads and so on (the
Report of the Tiger Task Force, Project Tiger, GoI, 2005). Such infrastructure, if not planned
properly and designed with due attention to the environment and ecology, adversely impact
ground water reserves, soil stability, forests and wildlife habitats by polluting it or by usurping
habitats used by wild animals for dispersal and movement.
Waste generation and its disposal
Study reveals that the 48 hotels in Kanha buffer produce around 547474.2 Kg or 547.474mt129
tm. of waste /annum, while the 13 hotels around Pench are producing waste to the tune of
217.613 tm. approx. (217.61mt51mt), annually. Almost 80% of the hotels around Kanha tiger
reserve and 90% around Pench tiger reserve have reported improper means of disposing off solid
waste. The most common means are throwing away, burying and burning,
Misuse of Ground water
Ground water is used by the hotels for numerous purposes such as maintenance of lawns and
grounds, swimming pool, bathing, laundry, cleaning and washing of utensils, rooms, toilets,
vehicles, and kitchen. 94.2% of the hotels in Kanha buffer and 100% in Pench reported using
ground water sources to meet their daily water needs. The total water use by 48 hotels around
Kanha tiger reserve is estimated to be 147420055 litres for over the entire tourist season and for

69

13 hotels around Pench the total annual ground water use by 13 hotels is estimated to be
58597319 litres. 44.1% hotels around Kanha and 62.5% around Pench do not have water
harvesting installations. Only 62.69% of the hotels around Kanha and 10% hotels around Pench
report recycling grey water for watering their garden, remaining simply let it flow into the
natural water courses that run into the core area.
In Kanha tiger reserve the buffer forests are suffering depletion as an unsustainable and harmful
market for firewood flourishes due to demand created by the hoteliers and eatery owners; 85%
of the hotels (n=11) around Pench tiger reserve use wood based boilers that on an average
consume 50187.5 kg or 50.18 tm of firewood /annum. In Kanha Tiger reserve 75% Hotels
around Mukki and 39% of hotels in Khatia and Mocha use wood based boilers that consume
840840 kg or 840.84 tm firewood annually.
In Kanha the total CO2 emission from 44 hotels is estimated at 6743.42 tm CO2/tourist season
and in Pench Buffer the total CO2emission is estimated at 2371.25 tm CO2/annum. As
visitations to the tiger reserve is rapidly increasing every year and more and more hotels are
coming up without any land use plan and restrictions on location (Open and No construction
zones), building design and standards of environmental safety, the situation will further
aggravate.
A study conducted by WII has recognized Kanha-Pench one of the best landscapes (16,000 km)
with two, source populations of tigers connected as a potential meta-population. (report STATUS OF TIGERS, CO-PREDATORS & PREY IN INDIA,2008Ed- Jhal, Y. et al), therefore
protecting the corridor between Kanha and Pench tiger reserve is critical. Though the WII study
didn't commented on the status of the corridor in the immediate vicinity of Kanha. The present
study finds that the Kanha-Pench metapopulation is threatened owing to unfettered development
of hotels and resorts in the critical corridor between the two tiger reserves; especially so in the
Kanha buffer zone. It is important to note that a joint survey by WWF-India and WII in MayJune 2009, on the basis of evidence of direct sighting of a tiger as well as presence of tiger and
its prey species in the corridor, concludes that tigers and its prey species continue to use this
corridor (Vattakaven, J..,WWF Report, October 2010).
McEuen (1993) define a wildlife corridor as a linear landscape element which serves as a linkage
between historically connected habitat/natural areas, and is meant to facilitate movement
70

between these natural areas. From the point of view of landscape ecology, a corridor has been
defined as a linear habitat that is embedded in a dissimilar matrix which connects two or more
larger blocks of habitat and which is proposed for conservation on the grounds that it will
enhance or maintain the viability of specific wildlife populations in the habitat blocks (Beier &
Noss 1998). Studies during the last few years have indicated that wildlife corridors have emerged
as a critical conservation strategy that may help minimise genetic isolation, offset fragmentation
problems, improve animal dispersal, restore ecological processes and reduce of man animal
conflict.
CERI (2006) make the following important observations about corridors and the manner in
which they function:
"A corridor can function at several scales. It can allow seasonal movements for a species; such
as elk migration between summer and winter range. A corridor may provide a route for
dispersing juveniles; for example a sub-adult cougar which has to leave habitat that is packed
full of other adult cougars, and wander in search of unoccupied habitat and a mate. A corridor
may also function over longer distancesand lengths of time; for example it probably took many
generations for grizzly bears to colonize Mexico from Texas, and it took thousands of years for
grizzlies to travel from Siberia into Alaska and then down through Canada. If a patch of habitat
is too small to support a population over time, corridors connecting this patch to other island
patches can provide a larger habitat structure, and thus support a larger effective population.".
The continuation of a well connected forested tracts between

Kanha and Pench tiger reserves

must therefore be visusalised on a long term time span where corridors make available good
habitat that would facilitate movement and interbreeding between these two important tiger gene
pools. This critical wildlife corridor must be protected by consciously making a shift in the
current working plan preparation guidelines for territorial forests areas that form a part of critical
tiger habitats to ensure contiguity as well as for enriching these habitats to bolster long term
continuity of tiger. Besides, it would be imperative to provide tiger unhindered passes beyond the
core areas that are now getting choked with expanding villages and fenced hotels and resorts.
This study reveals that the unplanned constructions of hotels in the buffer zone have already
impacted the corridor function of the buffer zone in Kanha tiger reserve. Around Kanha tiger
reserve all the 48 hotels are constructed along the south and south-western periphery of the core
of the tiger reserve which is a key segment of the Kanha - Pench corridor. 21 New hotels are in
the pipeline. 28% hotels are located within 0-0.5 km of the core boundary of the tiger reserve,
14% are within 0.5-2 km, 44% within 2-5 km and only 14% are located more than 5 km from the
71

core boundary. The mean distance of hotels from core boundary is 3.25 km. The mean property
size of the 48 hotels around the two entry gates of Kanha tiger reserve is 6.83 hectares. The
hotels around Khatia entrance have smaller property (mean property size 2.72 hectares), in
comparisons to the hotels around Mukki entrance (mean property size 9.73 hectares- minimum
0.4 hectares and maximum 36 hectare). Around Pench tiger reserve, the mean property size of
the hotels is 4.78 hectares (minimum 0.4 hectares, maximum15 hectares). Interestingly, all these
properties around Kanha and Pench tiger reserves are fenced. Free movement of tigers dispersing
from the core has been curtailed and other animals have lost dispersal areas owing to occupation
of open spaces (scrub and crop lands interspersed within the 150 villages of the buffer zone) by
the large resorts and hotels with fenced premises. As tiger's future precariously depends on
genetic exchange with other tiger populations elsewhere, immediate measures are required to
curb proliferation of hotels, otherwise tigers are bound to perish within these protected area
islands.
It is also noticed that some big hotels with huge properties have created their own wilderness
areas that harbour chital, wild pig and other small mammals. Though, maintaining habitats for
wild animals is a good idea, the fact remains that the fences impede free movement of animals,
creating almost captive populations (personal observation, Singinama, Oberoi in Kanha buffer,
October 2009). Creating property with captive scheduled animals within the closed premises is
not legal but it surely does give an extra edge to the hotels to increase their marketability. Such
unethical and illegal marketing strategy needs to be stopped.
At present the 13 hotels in Pench do not seem to pose any threat to the Kanha Pench corridor as
such but taking into account the construction spree (19 hotels are in the pipeline), in future there
is all likelihood that the connecting territorial forest patch between the Pench tiger reserve of
Madhya Pradesh and Pench tiger reserve of Maharashtra would be adversely impacted from
proliferation of hotels as it would curtail safe passages, dispersal habitats and would deteriorate
habitats.

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The Desired Tourism Development in tiger reserves

The model below explains the interventions and linkages that must be developed to streamline
tourism in a way that it infuses sustainability into the unsustainable mass tourism development in
the surrounds of the tiger reserve to become responsible and sustainable nature based enterprise
and modifies the wildlife tourism happening within the tiger reserves to assimilate the
characteristics of ecotourism.

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How the above model may be implemented on the ground is explained below:

Impacts of Hotels (2009)

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The following model explains the linkages required for success: Creating linkages to augment
local economy and benefit local people

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Lacunae in tourism management within tourism zones

The Issue of determining number limits (Carrying Capacity) for tiger reserves:
There is growing demand for determining recreational Carrying capacity in protected areas. The
demand emanates from the belief that in managing protected areas a maximum number of users
must be specified, above which recreation quality could not be sustained because of diverse
negative impacts on PA resources.
The idea of setting use limits in numbers of users is borrowed from the field of range
management in North America. Setting carrying capacity became a common practice in range
management when government allowed public to graze their cattle on government managed

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rangelands. The officials involved in management of these lands did not have time to oversee the
operation and meticulously monitor changes in range condition. Capacities were deliberately set
low so that private users would not damage government lands even in years when forage
production was low. This system never worked, actually ranges suffered from over grazing in
unproductive years while in productive years limits were wasteful. On private lands experienced
ranchers never set carrying capacities; they monitor conditions, for example - rainfall, forage
productivity and adjust the number of cattle to achieve their objectives (Edington &
Edington,1986).
Though it is possible to determine carrying capacity for recreational use of protected areas, it is
most unlikely to help managers to achieve objectives. Recreational use in natural areas is not as
straightforward as rangeland management. The truth remains that determining carrying capacity
is 'neither simple nor particularly useful' (Hammit and Cole,1987). Managing recreation use and
associated impacts is not exactly like managing cattle on grassland.
Recreational use impacts three major aspects:
Impacts of visitor use on:
i.
ii.
iii.

Physical environment:(abiotic elements -water, air, energy, soil, and infrastructure

such as roads, buildings, etc),
Biological attributes- flora, fauna and habitats, and
Social conditions that relates to quality of experience of visitors and lately also
includes impacts on host communities. the social component of carrying capacity
refers to the level of visitor use that can be accommodated in parks and protected
areas without diminishing the quality of the visitor experience to an unacceptable
degree.

McArthur ,S.. 2005, opines that "Carrying capacity is the lazy man's answer to visitor
management, just like fences and regulations! Sophisticated models that incorporate feedback
(monitoring) and adaptive management are more accountable and socially just"
In tiger reserves managers depend on a methodology based on (Cifuentes, M., 1992) but this
methodology suffers from subjectivity and appears to be flawed to the extent that it is amenable
to easy modifications by practitioners at will.
The vehicle carrying capacity gives the maximum number of vehicles that should be permitted to
enter into the reserve in a day. But managers tend to use this number to allow vehicles inside the
tiger reserve in the morning as well as evening to allow more people and earn more money
without understanding the impacts of allowing so many vehicles and people into the reserve. As
a cascading effect of increased number hoteliers and land developers start building more hotels
around core critical habitats. This vitiates the very purpose of setting number limits.
The assumption is that this magical number will automatically take care of the impacts of visitor
use. Setting number limits for vehicles is just only one aspect of the recreational impacts issues
in the reserves; what about the impacts on land, water, and forests of the buffer zone that are so
essential to the conservation of tiger, what about the impacts on local people, their land, water,
culture and economy, and what about the impacts of other visitor activities that are permitted in
the reserves. The assumption that the adverse impacts are only due to vehicular traffic is,
therefore, fallacious because the amended rules for tourism in PAs (Rule 34 of the M.P Wildlife

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Protection Rules, 1974, amended 2006) now permits camping, cycling, trekking, boating,
elephant rides (rechristened recently as 'Tiger Show'), wildlife watching from hides and machan,
and natures trail walks; all these activities will have one or the other adverse impact on the areas
and wildlife wherever such activities are permitted.
McArthur, S. 2005, contends that despite being more than three decade old, carrying capacity
remains a vague and elusive concept and there are no fixed or standard tourism recreational
carrying capacity values; in fact, carrying capacity varies, depending on place, season and time,
user behaviour, facility design, patterns and levels of management, and the dynamic character of
the environments themselves.
Besides, the number so fixed is seldom adhered to due to extraneous pressures from concerned
stakeholders- tourism organizations, operators and even political power centres. The case of
Galapagos National Park is a classical example where despite presidential moratorium in late
seventies, that officially the visitor numbers continued to swell, today more than 70000 visitors
foray on these fragile and unique islands annually (Kumar, S. et.al 2006). The same has
happened in Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Pench tiger reserves of Madhya Pradesh.
Extensive literature review by Butler et al. (1992) points out that carrying capacity is largely
influenced by the quality of management and therefore application or implementation of carrying
capacity requires adept management. Both the attraction and sustainability of a tourist
destination is relative to the standard of maintenance and management. If the management is
poor even a small number of visitors may produce serious adverse impacts.
When 'Carrying Capacity' is determined in terms of a magical number it doesn't explain how this
number helps to achieve management objectives and how this number would help PA manager
to manage and mitigate adverse impacts. The question on which the carrying capacity dwells is
'How much is too much'. This question may be useful in case of animals with largely
predictable behaviour and using a closed habitat but in case of recreational use this question
becomes redundant as intensity of impacts is a direct out come of behaviour of the visitors which
is highly unpredictable. In the absence of appropriate management even a small group of visitors
may create tremendous unacceptable changes to the resource they are visiting.
Setting number limits may be useful to an extent only if the number so determined is adhered to
under pressure and also for these numbers may be used as a tool to limit impacts as an extension
of the 'precautionary principles', which is based on the likelihood of adverse and unacceptable
impacts even though there might not be sufficient data to prove that a particular activity is
detrimental. Closure of most PAs in Madhya Pradesh for three months of monsoon, zoning for
recreational use, setting excursion time limits, closure of park to night visits, no polythene policy
are based on 'precautionary principles'.
Another issue is that the carrying capacity numbers over emphasise the importance of amount of
use and fail to consider the potential underlying causes of impacts. The questions that a manager
must ask should be i. What are the visible and what are the likely negative impacts of tourism
on ecology, environment, visitors and local society? ii. How these impacts are to be minimized
or managed to achieve the desired ecological, environmental and social goals that the tiger
reserves seek to achieve? At present, these questions are seldom asked and answered. In nutshell
the mandate of practicing ecotourism in the tiger reserves is going on in an ad hoc manner.

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Outside, in the buffer, the hydra headed mass tourism is engulfing the very resources on which
tourism depends.

In the context of natural areas where conflicting goals of tourism and conservation are to be
reconciled and managed simultaneously one has to keep in mind that all recreational use causes
some changes in the natural environment, therefore, impacts from recreation use will be
considered undesirable or damaging only when there is some judgment about 'what conditions
ought to prevail in a particular area' (Wagar, 1974; Wight,1998). Such assessment of value
should emanate mainly from the management objectives of the tiger reserve, local peoples
perceptions and needs as well as educational and recreational need of the visiting public. While
making this value judgment the managers must give priority to the purpose of setting aside the
tiger reserve and its major objectives of management.
Besides, one must recognise the fact that the threat of adverse impacts on the essential values is
not only from the visitors entering into the tiger reserves, it is also from the unregulated growth
of visitor facilities in its close vicinity. In fragile areas like a tiger reserve where the object to
manage a viable population of tiger and ensure its survival in the landscape it would be
imperative to safeguard its habitats and movement corridors therefore when the tiger's habitat is
threatened with development a thoughtful strategy must be set in motion. The government and
the managers must ascertain the important habitats and corridors and declare them as no
construction zone. In rest of the areas in the buffer, the hotels and restaurants must be made to
adhere to the standards of environment friendly design, and a code of conduct for judicious use
of energy, water and management of grey water, waste and emissions and adopt a no fence
policy.. Use of firewood by the hotels should be totally banned for any other purpose except
small campfires for which firewood must be procured from forest depots.
I firmly believe that, fixing certain limits on number of vehicles alone would not help the
managers at all; the need is to plan meticulously, explain the desired the desired ecological and
social conditions for the reserve and then set limits of acceptable changes over long a time frame
for both core and buffer zones.
To succeed in adequately manage and develop natural areas with respect to ecological and social
values collecting relevant and accurate data on visitor numbers, characteristics, behavior and
attitudes becomes crucial. Use can be reduced through other management actions such as zoning,
engineering, persuasion, and the management of biotic communities. This latter point led to a
substantial expansion of the meaning of carrying capacityfrom a focus on numbers of visitors
to the entire topic of how to plan and manage a particular recreation resource (Lime 1976). It is
much logical and useful to follow the 'Limits of acceptable Change LAC' or Visitor Experience
and Resource Protection Process VERP' methodology used in USA and some other developed
countries, instead of relying totally on limiting the numbers of vehicles or visitors. The number
limits if any should be determined on the basis of capacity to manage and visitor behavior as a
precautionary principle to help manager from getting overwhelmed with unmanageable numbers
of vehicle and visitors. Visitor experience and Resource Protection Process (VERP) is based on
age-old practice of private ranchers - Set Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) in the rangeland,
monitor and manage changes that are unacceptable (Kumar, S. et.al 2006).

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Some suggestions to streamline haywire tourism in tiger reserves are presented below:

80

It is a big misunderstanding that wild animals could be protected in perpetuity by

locking them within PAs. They have their ecological and biological needs. Many
large mammals need large landscapes to operate and exchange genes. Fencing off
PAs and locking out people completely will not help wildlife. The issue that needs to
be addressed is how to contain and manage the unsustainable growth of tourism in
some popular tiger reserves where tourism has gone haywire. The problem is more in
the buffer zones that include dispersal areas and part of critical corridors. Here
unrestricted construction of hotels is impacting ground water, buffer forests and
movement corridors.
Based on scientific study, tiger reserves managers must identify the crucial dispersal
areas and movement corridors outside the core zone. Such areas should be notified by
the government as 'No Development Zone' for construction of hotels, dhabas, shops,
malls, new highways, factories etc. Only small scale development of essential natureas schools, dispensaries, approaches roads, aanganwadi, small and medium, low
impact and non-polluting businesses to provide alternative non-forest based
enterprises may be permitted for the benefit of the villagers.
Once these areas are notified, the government should determine the maximum
number of hotels and small eateries that would be allowed in remaining area within a
radius of 10 kms from the tiger reserve core.
Grant of permission for any large scale tourism development or industrial
development in areas outside no construction zone but within a radius of 10 km from
the core must be preceded by Environmental Impact assessment and Social Impact
Assessment. And based on the findings of such studies number of hotels and lodges
that may be permitted in this zone be determined.
Hotels and small eateries (dhabas)) that are already operating within the are notified
as 'no development zone' (dispersal areas and corridors) may be given reasonable
time to make modifications to ensure minimum use of fossil fuel and no use of
firewood, maximum use of bio-gas and solar energy, proper disposal of solid wastes
tins, plastics and glass (these items must be disposed off in an incinerator or sent for
recycling plants elsewhere), recycling of waste water, minimize noise and use of
strong lights in the premises during night.
A no fence policy, except for the human dwellings, must be made mandatory for all
hotels.
Standards for building design, energy conservation, water harvesting, recycling of
grey water, appropriate disposal of solid and green waste, reducing emissions for
hotels, resorts, forest rest houses and eateries within and outside PAs should be set
and enforced. Legal instruments to enforce sustainability in ongoing unplanned and
unhealthy mass tourism in the immediate vicinity of protected areas should be put in
place. Building design guidelines will facilitate development of aesthetically
appealing and environmentally appropriate tourist facilities.
To ensure that the hotels and other tourism related structures are built according to
environment friendly design, regulatory guidelines must be notified use of
alternative energy, maximum use of ambient sunlight in the day time, water

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harvesting structures, mechanism for recycling of waste water must be an integral

part of the design of such infrastructure.

Regulatory guidelines for solid waste disposal management of green waste must be
notified

Framework and regulations for tripartite agreement among the hoteliers, local
community and PA managers to ensure augmentation of local economy, job
generation and direct employment.

A system of incentives must also be developed to reward those who have shown
evidence of good practices consistently

Suggestions for revamping tourism management within tourism zones :

1. Revisit and revise protected area's tourism management plans to make them more action
oriented to achieve objectives over prescribed time frames; at present objectives
mentioned in management plans look like policy guidelines.
2. Provide a separate contingent of contractual skilled workforce to manage tourism.
3. Develop appropriate mechanism to monitor populations, habitat conditions and adverse
impacts of tourism development and visitor activities within core and buffer.
4. Develop mechanism, provide skills and mobilize finances for empowering EDCs to take
up joint community based ecotourism ventures in the buffer.
5. Develop mechanism and provide financial resources and skill development inputs to nonPA forest managers in securing corridors, protecting tiger and its prey base within their
respective territorial jurisdictions.
6. Develop standards for building design, energy conservation, water harvesting, recycling
of grey water, appropriate disposal of solid and green waste, reducing emissions for
hotels, resorts and eateries within and outside PAs. Bring in legal instruments to enforce
sustainability in ongoing the unplanned and unhealthy mass tourism growth in the
immediate vicinity of protected areas.
7. Start new activities for tourists (trekking, camping, boating, rafting and so on) only after
identifying suitable areas. Suitability may be determined by looking at the likelihood of
disturbance or threat to wild animals, habitat degradation, visitor safety aspects and
existing managerial capacity. And for each new activity determine carrying capacity,
identify acceptable limits of change, identify change indicators and prescribe monitoring
methodology.
8. Strengthen protected area interpretation programme by improving the capabilities of
personal interpretive services like - guiding and information services.

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9. Enlarge the scope of Park Interpretation programme by starting outreach services for
local people, especially village children and offer them opportunity to view the protected
area from a new perspective.
10. Use tourism in PA as a supplemental tool for sustainable development of local
communities by giving local people direct stakes in tourism enterprises and by giving
Ecodevelopment committee a share of earnings from tourism as some of tiger reserves in
Madhya Pradesh are doing by transferring a portion of Development fund (Vikas Nidhi
of PAs created from Tourism related fees).
11. Include small scale infrastructure development for ecotourism as one of the forestry
activity in the FCA and prescribe criteria standards for location, design and
environmental safeguards.
Required Legislative Changes to ensure flow of benefits to locals and augmentation of local
economy
1. The Wildlife (P) Act, 1972 and FCA, 1980 should be amended to include explicit
provision for regulating land use in buffer areas of tiger reserves and make EIA
mandatory for all resource degrading, commercial infrastructure projects (Mining,
quarrying, polluting industries, hotels, resorts and any other such venture that prima facie
are capable of disrupting local ecology and local environments). The tiger reserves must
identify and map the areas critical to the long term continuation of tiger metapopulations
and the government should notify areas as no development zones.
2. The Environment Protection Act, 1986, Madhya Pradesh Panchayat Raj and Gram
Swaraj Adhiniyam, 2001 should be amended and the Sarai Act, 1867 should be
overhauled to include provision for enforcing ban on commercial constructions in most
important wildlife dispersal areas and corridors, and also to set standards for building
design, alternative energy use, regulating ground water use, emissions levels, light and
noise pollution, recycling of grey water, disposal of solid and green waste by exiting as
well as new hotels and dhabas (eateries) built in the buffer. The same should be made
applicable to establishments owned by the Governments or Panchayat Raj Institutions .
3. The Panchayat Raj Act should be suitably amended to empower Gram Sabha to levy
taxes on extraction of surface and ground water, use of land and energy or to levy an
environmental cess on the exiting land tax on the Hotels and resorts that are using local
resources such as agricultural land, ground water and forests without paying back
anything to the original guardians.
4. Legal provisions should be made in appropriate Act, in all private or government led
ecotourism project, to ensure a tripartite agreement among private sector, local people
and the government agency to ensure employment to local people, and equitable benefit
sharing among partners.
5. State need to enact rules - under whichever Act it may deem fit - to ensure that the
hotels, resorts, eateries, whether private or owned by government, purchase all their

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grocery, grains, pulses, dairy and meat products, building material from local markets
and only in case where the demand exceeds the supply they may approach distant
markets.

6. Enforce a conservation fee on Hoteliers /resort/ eatery owners that make profit on a
resource (Forests and wildlife) managed by taxpayers money. This fee should be shared
with local people whose land, water and forest resources are being used/misused by
private businesses and a part of should be channeled towards protection and management
of tiger reserve including improvement of buffer habitats.
@Suhas Kumar, 2011 The Views expressed above are my personal thoughts accumulated over
the years owing to my association with the subject of Tourism and Ecotourism as a teacher of
this subject and also as a manager and supervisor of protected areas and later as a researcher in
this field. These views are personal and not official. My own research in this field has led me to
believe that tourism dependant on natural areas must behave otherwise the very resource that
sustains it will be gone in no time.This paper is only an abridged account of the findings from
my study. Those who are interested may ask for a copy of my thesis. sukum48@rediffmail.com
References:
1. Butler,R.W., Fennel, D., and Boyd, S.W.(1992), The Polar Model: A System for
managing the Recreational capacity of Canadian Heritage rivers, Ottawa, Environment
Canada,
2. Compendium of Guidelines and Circulars issued by the Project Tiger Directorate,
Ministry of Environment & Forests, and November, 2004.
3. Cifuentes, M., 1992. Determination of Visitor Carrying Capacity in Protected
Areas.World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC
4. Edington, J. M. and Edington, M. A. (1986): Ecology, Recreation and Tourism.
Cambridge.
5. Hammitt, W.E. and Cole, D.N. (1998) Wildland Recreation: Ecology and Management
(2nd edn). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
6. Kumar. S. Naik. K, Ahmed, S., Shrivastava, A. Dungriyal., N.S. and Rajpoot, S.S. (2006)
Report of the Committee for suggesting Tourist Carrying Capacity in Protected Areas of
Madhya Pradesh submitted to the CWLW, Madhya Pradesh.
7. Kumar. S. (unpublished). An Assessment of the Ecotourism Strategies and Practices in
Tiger Reserves of Madhya Pradesh, PHD pre thesis report.
8. Lime, D. W. (1976). Principles of recreational carrying capacity. In: Proceedings of
southern states recreation research applications workshop. General Technical Report SE9. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Asheville,
NC: 122-134
9. McArthur, S. 2005. Carrying capacity it's time to let it go inPlaneta.com: Global
journal of Practical Ecotourism, http://www.planeta.com/planeta/05/0508cc.html

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10. USDI National Park Service (1997)VERP: A Summary of the Visitor Experience and
Resource Protection(VERP) Framework. Denver, CO: USDI National Park Service,
Denver Service Center..
11. Wagar, J. 1974. Recreational Carrying Capacity Reconsidered. Journal of Forestry. 72:
274-278.
12. Wight, P. (1998) Tools for sustainability analysis in planning & managing tourism &
recreation in the destination. In CM Hall & AA. Lew (eds). Sustainable Tourism: A
Geographical perspective. Harlow UK; Addison Wesley Longman

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Pench

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Kanha

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Bandhavgarh

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