ED Brings Justice to the Jungle — Properties Worth ₹1.75 Crore Attached in Corbett.
DEHRADUN: Finally, a roar of relief echoes through Corbett Tiger Reserve.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Dehradun, has delivered a long-overdue blow to those who dared to play with the fragile habitat of India’s majestic tigers.
In a major crackdown on the Corbett construction scam, the ED on July 9, 2025, provisionally attached immovable properties worth ₹1.75 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
These properties are located in Haridwar district of Uttarakhand and Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh.
The action targets Brij Bihari Sharma and his associates — key accused in the illegal construction and land-use violations inside Corbett Tiger Reserve.
The scam had sparked outrage among wildlife lovers, conservationists, and tiger rights activists across the country.
“This is not just a legal action; it's justice for the voiceless,” said a senior wildlife official reacting to the development.
“This move has brought back some faith — both in the law and in the future of Corbett’s tigers.”
The illegal constructions had not only flouted every conservation norm but also threatened to shrink the already limited core habitats of the big cats.
Activists claim this is just the tip of the iceberg and are demanding more such action against the forest mafia and political-bureaucratic nexus that allowed this destruction to flourish.
Once hailed as the safest haven for tigers in north India, Corbett Tiger Reserve is now battling a silent crisis.
Despite being home to one of the highest densities of tigers in the world, the reserve is under siege—not from poachers, but from illegal constructions, unregulated tourism, and administrative apathy.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and multiple media exposés have pointed fingers at corrupt forest officials and politicians who allowed rampant building of resorts and roads in core and buffer zones, fragmenting tiger corridors and disturbing breeding grounds.
What should have been a protected paradise has been turned into a playground for profit, forcing tigers into shrinking, disturbed territories.
According to the latest All India Tiger Census 2022, the Corbett Landscape continues to have a healthy tiger population, with over 250 tigers, the highest for any reserve in the country.
However, experts warn that numbers alone don’t tell the full story. Increasing human interference, illegal felling of trees, construction of bridges inside core areas like Pakhro, and mismanagement of funds meant for conservation threaten the long-term survival of the species.
Several tigers have reportedly turned aggressive or wandered into human-dominated areas — signs of ecological stress.
If immediate corrective action isn’t taken, the Corbett success story might just turn into a cautionary tale of how not to manage a tiger reserve.
For now, though, the stripes are smiling — and so are the ones fighting for them. Long Live the big cat, the king of Jungle!
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