Jim Corbett Park renaming: Centre has told Uttarakhand govt to send proposal, says Ashwini Kumar Choubey

Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Sunday said that his ministry has asked the Uttarakhand government to send a proposal to rename the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand as Ramganga National Park, “its original title after India’s independence”.

It comes days after he floated the idea of renaming it during a visit to the national park on October 3.

Choubey, who is also MoS for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, was interacting with reporters in Kevadia in Narmada district, where he inaugurated a two-day national conference of zoo directors.

Adding that the renaming of the park is the “desire of the locals”, the minister said, “The tiger reserve was earlier known as the Ramganga National Park. So when I asked the locals, what is Ramganga, they said that there is a water reservoir inside the reserve, where animals quench their thirst…”

Choubey added, “We don’t know how the name of the tiger reserve changed from Ramganga… Jim Corbett was a great hunter and a good man. He has been given due respect for who he was… He could have been made an ambassador but we can definitely call the national park Ramganga. It is the desire of the locals. Once the state government sends us the proposal, we will initiate the process for the renaming of the park.”

The conference, which is also discussing the possibility of developing a large public space for viewing sea animals on the lines of national parks, will see participation from more BJP leaders, including Union Minister for Environment Forest and Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav.

Choubey also lashed out at the Congress for continuing with its protests against the Lakhimpur Kheri incident and said, “The arrest of Ashish Mishra, who is the son of a minister, has proven that the BJP government does not try to cover up crimes… We stand for justice and also ensure culprits are brought to book. But the Congress is busy earning its political mileage out of the incident. The farmers are taking out rallies in support of the BJP.”