Ranchi:

Reacting to protests by Jains over designating their main shrine Sammed Shikharji in Jharkhand as an eco tourism destination, the central government has halted all such activities in the larger Parasnath Hills, where it is located.

It has also told the state to acts strictly against banned practices such as consumption of liquor or “defiling of sites of religious and cultural significance” or damage to the ecology. 

Jain community leaders fear that designating the place as a tourist destination may “hurt its sanctity”.

Earlier today, Chief Minister Hemant Soren wrote to the Centre to seek “appropriate decisions” on its 2019 notification. He wrote that the state’s 2021 tourism policy — it is also being opposed by the community — is for forming a management board that can better manage the shrine.

Led by the state’s Tourism Secretary, it will have six non-government members who are being chosen from the Jain community, the letter said. It added that the community’s opposition was to declaring Parasnath Hills, where the shrine is located, as an “eco tourism” area.

The letter to the Union Environment Ministry came days after the ministry wrote to the state asking it to “recommend necessary modifications for further needful action”.

Barely two hours later, Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav issued a memo saying that ecologically harmful activities be “stayed” immediately. Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy, too, said at a press meet that “nothing will be done to harm anyone’s religious feelings”. He stressed that eco tourism meant no permanent structures, restaurants and such, in that area.

The Centre’s memo also said that at least two members of the management board have to be from the Jain community.

Sammed Shikhar falls in the eco-sensitive zone of Parasnath Wildlife Sanctuary and Topchanchi Wildlife Sanctuary.

There is a list of prohibited activities that can’t take place in and around the designated eco-sensitive area. Restrictions will be followed in letter and spirit. pic.twitter.com/aTX5aKkvbH

— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) January 5, 2023

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress government has been arguing that the original notifications were done by BJP governments, and that the Centre needs to act. BJP’s Raghubar Das, who was chief minister in 2019, has also said that wrong decisions can be corrected now.

केंद्रीय वन मंत्री आदरणीय श्री @byadavbjp जी को पत्र लिख जैन अनुयायियों द्वारा प्राप्त आवेदनों के अनुसार पारसनाथ स्थित सम्मेद शिखर की सुचिता बनाये रखने हेतु पर्यावरण, वन एवं जलवायु परिवर्तन मंत्रालय, भारत सरकार की संबंधित अधिसूचना के संदर्भ में समुचित निर्णय लेने हेतु आग्रह किया। pic.twitter.com/xQenqjahjn

— Hemant Soren (@HemantSorenJMM) January 5, 2023

Jain community leaders fear that designating the place as a tourist destination may “hurt its sanctity”.

Earlier in the day, Jharkhand Tourism Secretary Manoj Kumar told PTI that the move to designate 200 locations, including Sammed Shikharji, as a tourist destination was for “administrative convenience”.

These locations have long been identified nationally and internationally as tourist places and attract pilgrims and visitors from across the world, he stressed. The notification has a provision for establishing an authority, with representatives from the Jain community, to frame rules for better management of Shri Sammed Shikharji, he added.

He said the state government is also ready to amend the classification and include “Jain religious place” for Sammed Shikharji.

The shrine in Parasnath Hills in Giridih district, home to the highest peak in the state some 160 km from state capital Ranchi, is among the holiest places of the Jains, including for both Digambar and Shwetambar sects, as 20 of the 24 Jain Tirthankaras attained ‘moksha’ (salvation) in this location.

Mr Kumar said Parasnath Hills is not like any other normal tourist place as it comes under the jurisdiction of a wildlife sanctuary and, even for small construction, permission has to be sought from wildlife authorities.

The Jain community, however, is fears that that hotels, bars and restaurants will come up there “destroying the sanctity of the place”.

“The government’s proposal to include ‘Jain religious place’ in the notification is just eyewash. We are a minority community that contributes significantly to the economy. We demand that the notification be scrapped,” said Padam Kumar Chhabra, a Jain community leader in Ranchi.

Jains are a small minority — around 1 per cent of India’s population — but have been influential in business and form about 5 per cent of Mumbai City district, considered the country’s financial capital.  

The National Commission for Minorities has taken note and scheduled a hearing for January 17. It can make recommendations to governments.