Commercial activities at Amber & Nahargarh Forst in Jaipur face a complete ban

This tourist season, travellers and visitors will no longer be able to indulge in any commercial activity at the Amber and Nahargarh Forts in Jaipur. The archaeological department on Tuesday issued an order, in compliance with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to ban all mercantile setups here.

The NGT had previously declared all businesses in the Nahargarh Wildlife Sanctuary & Fort area as illegal, resulting in their pack-up effective from December 1, this year. Besides, the light and sound show held at the Kesar Kyari at Amber foothill have also been shut until further notice read reports.

Tourist footfall to affect with commercial shut down

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Going by reports, a counter appeal has been filed against the tribunal's order at the Supreme Court. Filed by the state department of archaeology and museums and others, this appeals to let the heritage hotels and tourist attractions stay unmoved.

According to the erstwhile NGT order, the commercial spaces stationed here are not in harmony with the objectives of the Wildlife Act, however, restaurants like ‘Padao’ and ‘Once Upon A Time’ have been working in accordance with the Rajasthan Transparency Public Procurement Act since 1982.

Similarly, the light and sound show at Kesar Kyari is a legendary display of rich folklore that attracts tourists round the year. Discontinuing these will have a direct impact on the tourist footfall across the region, pointed out reports.

A tug of war

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Meanwhile, the PIL filed by environmentalist R Tiwari to stop these commercial activities have revealed that all restaurants operating in the earmarked area (forest area, wildlife sanctuary and the fort) violate the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 as well the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.

Since the fort is government property, belonging to the archaeological department, any sort of commercialization by the RTDC is strictly prohibited. It may also be noted that the NGT order was moved only after a thorough inspection of the tourist movement in the area and verification of claims regarding the encroachments, highlighted reports.

- With inputs from TOI