A proposal to build a government-led five-star hotel on an uninhabited island in the Sundarbans has triggered opposition from environmental groups, even as state officials said the plan is still at an early stage and would avoid damage to forests and wildlife.
The proposal was discussed after BJP leader and actor Mithun Chakraborty met officials of the Canning subdivision on Sunday while returning from a two-day visit to the Sundarbans. Mithun said the project was being considered to improve tourism and create economic opportunities for local residents. Officials from the tourism and forest departments, along with district and Canning subdivision administrators, were reportedly present at the meeting.
Mithun said the state was examining the possibility of building a wooden five-star hotel on a remote island so that tourists could have better opportunities to see tigers. He cited the revenue generated by jungle safaris in other parts of the country and said the Sundarbans had not been able to develop a comparable tourism model. He also referred to plans for dolphin safaris and religious tourism.
According to Mithun, the proposed tourism model would seek to employ 70% to 80% of local residents. He said he would present the details to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after returning to Kolkata.
Sundarban Development Minister Dipankar Jana said the government would consider only islands where wildlife would not be affected. He said the state did not support development that damaged the environment and that improving the economic condition of Sundarbans residents was one of its main objectives.
An official of the Canning subdivision said the proposal was at a preliminary stage. The official said the government was considering islands without forests or wildlife and that the proposed hotel would not use concrete construction. Special attention would be given to preventing environmental damage, the official said.
The proposal has not received unanimous support within the state administration. Environment Minister Manoj Oraon said he was not aware of the exact statement made by Mithun and therefore could not comment on it. He nevertheless acknowledged that a hotel inside a forest would cause environmental damage.
Environmental groups have opposed the idea. Environmentalist Subhas Dutta said such a project would not be acceptable and warned that activists would launch a movement, including legal action if necessary. Another environmentalist, Biswajit Mukherjee, said a similar attempt had been made during the Left Front period but was rejected by the pollution control board and did not receive central clearance. He said the Sundarbans needed protection and that a hotel project could be dangerous for the environment.
The Sundarbans is a protected and ecologically sensitive landscape where tourism, livelihoods, forest protection and wildlife conservation overlap. The current proposal has not specified a site, construction schedule, investment structure, approval pathway or environmental clearance process. The next steps will depend on the state government’s review and any formal proposal placed before the tourism, forest, environment and local administrative authorities.
