Kerala High Court calls for cap on tourists visiting hill stations

In the wake of frequent natural disasters, the Kerala High Court on Friday called for regulating the tourist flow in the hill stations in the State and said a 'carrying capacity assessment' can guide the authorities to devise a system for preservation of the ecologically sensitive areas [In Re, Prevention and Management of Natural Disasters].The Court made the observation while hearing a suo motu case initiated to address the factors that led to the recent devastating landslides in Wayanad.The Division Bench of Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Syam Kumar VM said that Kerala’s hill stations, popular for their scenic beauty, face grave danger due to the increasing number of tourists and the corresponding unscientific infrastructure development."Taking note of the spate of natural disasters that have afflicted the hill stations in our State in the recent past, we are of the view that there is an emergent need to regulate the unbridled inflow of tourists into such hill stations," observed the Court..Accordingly, the Court said a carrying capacity assessment can be done to guide policy makers and the respective district administrations to devise a system of management of tourist areas in the interest of ecology and preservation.The Court noted that according to United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), tourism carrying capacity is "the maximum number of people that may visit a tourist destination at the same time, without destroying the physical, economic, socio-cultural environment and an unacceptable decrease in the quality of visitors satisfaction".Carrying capacity needs to be estimated under various heads such as physical, economic, socio- cultural, biophysical and ecological capacity, with the purpose of limiting tourism influx to a certain number to preserve the resources and local economic and social viability, explained the Court..It underlined that issues such as overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, heavy traffic and environmental strain cause significant problems for both tourists and local residents"Tourists also face innumerable problems like being stuck on roads for hours, lack of to quality and hygienic food and water, toilets, long queues, less parking, access time spent in popular destinations depriving a satisfactory experience, leading to a situation that is no-win for all stakeholders. Mushrooming of buildings and entertainment facilities has led to a concrete overburden on the hills, and coupled with levelling activities they are said to be the leading causes of landslides in the various locations in the State," the Court added..Thus, the Court observed estimation of carrying capacity and capping the number of vehicles and visitors entering the hill stations in Kerala would be in the best interests of all.It added that the carrying capacity may be estimated using the available data with the respective district administrations with respect to:"Assessment of footfall of tourists per day during peak and non-peak season.Assessment of number of all types of vehicles entering the District during peak and non-peak season.Available accommodation facilities determined from only the facilities that have all legal permits, together with parking space, to assess whether it is commensurate with the accommodation facilities.Assess the water availability in the District and determine the water that is available to tourist facilities after accounting and preserving water resources for local use including agricultural and other needs.Waste collection and management infrastructure.Availability and capacity of effluent treatment facilities.Determine the protected areas and reserve forests in the various Districts and carry out separate carrying capacity studies, as areas with forests and wildlife are less tolerant to higher tourist intrusion such as pollution, littering and behavioural changes in animals.List out the popular tourist destinations and calculate individual physical carrying capacity of each location.".In this backdrop, the Court directed the State government to issue immediate orders to the respective district administrations, within whose territorial and jurisdictional limits the various hill stations of tourist importance are situated, for obtaining the necessary data/details/statistics "The District Administrations concerned must revert to the State Government with the necessary data/details/statistics within three weeks from the receipt of orders from the State Government, and a consolidated report pertaining to all the hill stations in the State shall be furnished before this Court by the State Government through an affidavit filed on its behalf on or before 25th October, 2024," it ordered further..Advocate General Gopalakrishna Kurup represented the Kerala government..[Read Order]