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Ecotourism faces flak at Periyar

It's called Garden Retreat. Quiet, upmarket, set in the lush wilderness. It has all the comforts of a luxurious hotel, being a collaborative effort of the Taj group and the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation. And it is now is caught in the crossfire between the forest department, the tourism department and the conservationists.

The Lake Palace imbroglio The Kerala government is in a spot after the forest department objected to the renewal of the licence to the Lake Palace, the KTDC-owned luxury hotel in the Periyar Tiger Reserve.        Caught in a spot, Forest Minister P R Kurup denied any knowledge of the lease. "The matter has not come before me. I have never seen any file on the subject. I am not aware of any such lease," he said.        But Tourism Minister E Chandrasekharan Nair said he had detailed discussions with Kurup on renewing the lease. "A conference was held three months ago which was attended by the forest minister, the tourism minister, the tourism secretary, the forest secretary, the chief conservator of forests and other forest officials." It was then decided that the lease would be renewed and additional boating facilities provided," says Nair, adding that he and Kurup themselves approved the minutes of the meeting. On the basis of the decision taken, the KTDC forwarded an application to the forest department for renewal of the Lake Palace lease. However, no action was taken.        Singh argues that the Periyar forest had not been declared a sanctuary when the Lake Palace lease was signed in 1971. Therefore, all the activities that took place prior to the declaration should be allowed to continue. Besides, the Lake Palace cannot be demolished because it is a heritage building.        "The forest minister was positively disposed towards extending the lease. But the forest department wants to somehow take over the Lake Palace," he said.        If the forest and tourism departments don't agree, the matter will reach the cabinet, attracting provisions under the Forest Protection Act, 1980 and the Wildlife Protection Act, 1991, which prohibit constructions in the core area of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.        The tourism minister argues that the central law refers to fresh constructions, not existing ones. The Lake Palace has been there for over 80 years. It was the hunting lodge of the maharaja of Travancore before it was taken over by the forest department and later leased to the KTDC.        KTDC Managing Director Ashish Kumar Singh says, "The forest department wants us to vacate the Lake Palace so that it can use it as a guest house for forest officials." The forest department already has a guest house which charges Rs 150 a night. The Lake Palace costs around Rs 7,000 a night.        Forest officials are also irked that over the years, nine elephants have been electrocuted by power lines to the Lake Palace. Singh claims the KTDC is not responsible. "We did not put up the lines. The electricity board did. It is a tripartite problem, yet we are being singled out for blame," he said.

The Taj claims the project, being set up on the fringes of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, is eco-friendly. Hectic construction activity is in progress so that the hotel is complete in time for Queen Elizabeth's visit to Kerala in October. She is slated to be the hotel's first celebrity guest.

It is a war with no winners. At stake is the enormous tourist revenue which has turned the reserve into a moneyspinner for the KTDC, which runs three hotels within the sanctuary, the biggest being the Lake Palace, which provides luxury accommodation for an international clientele.

Even this jewel in the KTDC's crown has problems. The KTDC had leased the palace from the forest department 25 years ago. The forest department is uncertain whether to renew the lease that expired last year on the grounds that a luxury hotel in the heart of the sanctuary is detrimental to wildlife preservation.

Even as that controversy rages, the KTDC and the Taj group are going full steam ahead with the Garden Retreat. The Taj group has a stake of 40 per cent in the project and KTDC, 20 per cent. The remaining 40 per cent is earmarked as public equity, which is yet to be issued. The 12-member director board of the joint venture company includes three Kerala government officials, six representatives of the Taj group and three other nominees.

The hotel is a four-star affair and covers 3.6 acres, over which are spread 16 cottages mounted on stilts. To assuage conservationists, the hotel boasts a novel sewage treatment system that ensures the hotel's effluents don't go into the Periyar river.

But the forest department is more worried that the hotel will have a negative impact on the sanctuary. It fears that the KTDC and the Taj group will use their clout to try and ply more boats, thus disrupting the forest environment.

Forest officials point out that the Garden Retreat brochure promises treks to restricted areas such as the controversial Mangladevi Temple. At present, the temple gates are padlocked to keep off the public. Says a forest ranger: "Let the Taj hotel advertise what it wants. The decision to allow people anywhere near the temple rests with us."

The hotel is also a short distance from the Chekliya colony, the vice den of Kumili town bordering Periyar. "The people there see the hotel as an opportunity to make money. Prostitution will go up. More men will take up pimping as a vocation," a forest official forecast gloomily.

But the biggest threat now to the hotel is the power struggle between the tourism and forest departments. Forest officials seek total control over all activities within the reserve, including the movement of tourists. But the tourism department argues that marketing a destination, bringing in tourists and providing accommodation are best handled by the tourism department.

"Tourists and animals are not the same," says KTDC Managing Director Ashish Kumar Singh. Maybe. The issue now seems to be only about which gets priority.