The state government is set to auction islands inside theJawai Leopard Conservation Reserve(JLCR) inPali districtto private players for 50 years to develop and operate tourism projects in alleged violation of green norms. The plan, which aims to attract around Rs 25 crore, has raised the hackles of environmentalists and forest officials.

The state-runEastern Rajasthan Canal Project Corporation Ltd(ERCPC) is slated to open technical bids for a Rs 8.26-crore project on May 4 and 5, followed by financial bids from the qualified players later.

Jawai dam, the largest in western Rajasthan amid the Thar, is also Home to more than 200 crocodiles and other aquatic creatures.
The planned projects will fall inside theleopard reserve, which also hosts sloth bears, wolves, chinkaras and other animals.

The project’s critics claim the government is going about the move “secretly” and constructions on such a “massive scale” inside the reserve will pose a serious threat to leopard conservation.
According to Shatrunjay Pratap, a wildlife conservationist, the declared Jawai a leopard reserve in February 2010 with an area of 19.78 hectares. Later, in May 2016, the state regulated commercial and industrial (including mining) activities within 1km of the zone.