Strict new guidelines promoting eco-tourism could be introduced in India. The Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) is drawing up new guidelines for responsible tourism in the country’s 733 different wildlife sanctuaries and national parks which include alpine and flower valleys, bird habitats, and marine, reptile and coastal parks. The move could see tourists banned from Odisha’s Gahirmatha Beach in March when the Olive Ridley Turtles come to lay eggs. Picking even one blade of grass from the Rhododendron Sanctuary in Sikkim, where the large and showy pink flowers bloom en masse, would also be barred. And in certain Himalayan protected areas the number of vehicles and tourists allowed and at what time will be reassessed. The MoEF is considering the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s (NTCA) guidelines – the only existing model – which has laws as strict as allowing not more than 20 per cent area of a tiger reserve to be used for tourism. There are 50 tiger reserves under the jurisdiction of the NTCA, including the Jim Corbett, Dudhwa, Melghat, Bandhavgarh and Periyar. A senior MoEF officer said there is no ‘ecotourism’ guideline in place at present. Chief wildlife wardens of protected areas have control over the admission and regulation of visitors,’ he said. However the lack of guidelines leaves room for discretion and associated issues. There are two related existing laws – one, the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980, which says any non-forestry activity in a jungle is unlawful and has to be compensated by afforestation or money.