Two Bengal ministers have countered Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav’s allegation that the development of the Sundarbans is stuck in the quagmire of mismanagement, asking the Centre to release funds cleared by the World Bank and highlighting central “apathy” to the ecologically vulnerable region.
Yadav had on Sunday criticised the state government for not being able to exploit the tourism potential of the Sundarbans, a Unesco-recognised heritage site. “The Sundarbans should expand its tourism. On average, 9-9.5 lakh tourists visit the Sundarbans every year, while the figure is almost 19 lakh in Ranthambore,” the minister told The Telegraph on the sidelines of a national-level meeting on tigers and elephants.
“Mismanagement from the state government’s side is happening, which is slowing down the development (of the Sundarbans),” he added.
Yadav, who has been appointed the BJP’s election in charge for the 2026 Bengal Assembly polls, also claimed that the state had failed to properly utilise the ₹112 crore central funds approved for the development of the Sundarbans.
Bengal irrigation minister Manas Bhunia on Monday said the Union minister should release the funds approved by the World Bank before pointing fingers at the state government.
“The Union minister should ask his own government to release the developmental funds for the Sundarbans, which have been lying with the central ministry for a long time despite being cleared by the World Bank,” Bhunia said.
Bhunia’s department is key to the implementation of the ₹4,100-crore lower-delta project, whose cost will be shared by the World Bank and the state in a 70:30 ratio. The funds will be used to erect embankments, support livelihood and conserve biodiversity in the region over the next few years.
Sundarbans affairs minister Bankim Hazra complained of the Centre’s apathy towards the region that had been repeatedly impacted by extreme weather events.
A senior forest department officer claimed that the Centre’s approval for the recent expansion of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve proved the state government’s success in managing the forest area.
Experts said the Sundarbans could not be compared to other forests in the country.
“Sundarbans cannot be compared to Ranthambore as its landscape and challenges are different. While tourism is key to local livelihood, we also need to think about the scale and nature of tourism to be allowed in such a delicate ecological zone with a population of 5 million. We need responsible tourism in the zone,” said Sundarbans expert Tuhin Ghosh, a professor at Jadavpur University.
Biswajit Roy Choudhury, a member of the state wildlife board, pointed out that the difficulty in accessing the Sundarbans forest often made it less attractive to tourists compared with the likes of Ranthambore or Kanha.
“Being the world’s only mangrove forest stretch with tigers, there is definitely more tourism potential in the Sundarbans. We need to showcase its tourism potential more aggressively, particularly high-end tourism, while not compromising on protecting its delicate ecosystem,” said ecological economist Nilanjan Ghosh, head of think-tank Observer Research Foundation, Calcutta.
“I just hope that the Centre is not planning to commercialise the Sundarbans in the name of expanding tourism, like it is doing in Aravalli or the Andamans,” said an activist.